Saarc chamber chief calls for greater Chinese ties
Annisul Huq, president of Saarc Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has urged China to promote bilateral trade and economic cooperation with South Asia.
He was addressing the inaugural session of the fifth China-South Asia Business Forum at Kunming in China on Sunday.
Qin Guangrong, governor of the Yunnan Province of China, inaugurated the session. He said China was willing to establish profound economic relations with the South Asian countries. He added the countries had potential to penetrate the world's second largest economy.
Huq, also the president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, emphasised preferential market access for South Asia to the Chinese market and regarded Chinese investment as a tool to promoting China-Saarc trade, which was only $66 billion. China's trade with Asean countries stood at $250 billion.
"China needs to play the role of a big brother and to assist South Asian countries through technical assistance, transformation of technology and relocation of labour-intensive industries to South Asian countries."
In a presentation, Huq said mutual cooperation between China and India was the need of the hour and future economic development of China and South Asia was inter-linked.
He presented a 10-point agenda, comprising flexible visa regime, identification and removal of non-tariff barriers, mutual recognition of certificates, infrastructure development and relocation of industries in mutually interested areas.
Joint ventures and investment, frequent exchange of business delegations and exhibitions, free trade agreement between China and South Asia and consideration of South Asian governments for China's inclusion in Saarc, were also part of his agenda.
Syed Ashraful Islam, local government minister of Bangladesh; Ghulam Mohammad Aylaqi, commerce minister of Afghanistan; Mahinda Samarasinghe, plantation industry minister of Sri Lanka; Ali Rasheed Hussain, deputy economic development minister of the Maldives, also spoke.
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