Milestone for Sino-Bangla ties
Says Chinese minister ahead of its president's visit to Dhaka Friday
Strategic cooperative partnership between Dhaka and Beijing is set to enter a “new level” during the upcoming visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is scheduled to arrive on Friday for 22-hour visit.
It would be the first time a Chinese president is paying a state visit to Bangladesh in the past 30 years.
"Bangladesh is China's important partner in South Asia and the Indian Ocean region, and the visit would be a milestone for China-Bangladesh relationship," Kong Xuanyou, assistant foreign minister, said in Beijing.
According to draft programme schedule, the Chinese president will arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 11:40am from Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.
President Abdul Hamid will receive him at the airport. He will hold official talks with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Prime Minister's Office at 3:00pm which will be followed by signing of agreements. Ahead of Xi's arrival, an important Chinese delegation led by its commerce minister is expected to arrive in Dhaka tomorrow to finalise the deals to be signed after the official talks on Friday. The Chinese president will meet Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury. He will also meet his Bangladesh counterpart at Bangabhaban.
On Saturday morning, the Chinese president will depart for Goa after visiting the National Memorial.
A reliable source told The Daily Star that the Chinese side agreed to give an opportunity to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to meet with the Chinese president at his hotel suite on Saturday morning. During Xi's visit, China will sign a number of cooperative agreements with Bangladesh to implement the Beijing-proposed "Belt and Road Initiative", which focuses on improving infrastructure and boosting interconnection, Kong said.
So far, more than 70 countries and international organisations have actively participated in the “Belt and Road” construction. In Goa, Xi will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders, including heads of BIMSTEC (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand) countries who have been invited to the Goa summit.