'Chinese President's Bangladesh visit will boost ties'

Dhaka, Oct 11 Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Bangladesh is a diplomatic boost that heralds a new era in relations between the two countries, a Bangladeshi minister said.

Information Minister Hasanul Huq Inu in an interview to Xinhua news agency on Tuesday said, "President Xi Jinping's visit to Bangladesh will take the deep cordial relations between Bangladesh and China to a new greater height."

Xi will be visiting Dhaka this week at the invitation of Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid.

"This upcoming visit marks the strong bondage between the two nations as well as paves the way for future growth of our ties," said Inu, who is also President of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), a partner of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ruling grand alliance.

He said the relations and engagements between Bangladesh and China are enormous.

"Our two nations support each other on the principles of peace, stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual trust and respect, mutual interest and equitable sharing of mutual benefits," Inu said.

"We also work closely for developing a quadrilateral economic space between Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar -- popularly known as BCIM-EC (Economic Corridor). Definitely coordinated efforts of Bangladesh and China on local and international development issues of mutual interest will result in great outcomes," Inu added.

The minister said over the last eight years, Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in economic growth, women's advancement and empowerment, education and health, and other areas of human development, including laying out communication, production and trading architectures.

"To keep the development on track, we look forward to Chinese cooperation in project financing and low-cost investment, technology, upgrading management skills, market access, defence, agriculture, industry, communication, water resources management and media modernisation," Inu said.

At this very moment, he said Chinese cooperation in this sector will be extremely significant. "Infrastructure building and ICT adoption are the two most prominent sectors where we seek Chinese cooperation in media."

IANS