City Desk :
Beijing has appreciated Bangladesh’s interest to join BRICS and assured of China’s active support in this regard.
The assurance came at the 13th round of bilateral political consultations between Bangladesh and China held in Beijing on Monday, a foreign ministry’s press release said on Tuesday, reports BSS.
BRICS is an intergovernmental organization comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates, reports BSS.
Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and Chinese Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Sun Weidong led their respective side at the consultation.
The consultations focused on consolidating bilateral relations, enhancing economic ties, promoting trade and investment and exploring opportunities for cooperation in multilateral platform.
The Chinese vice minister congratulated Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for being re-elected through the national election on January 7 and hoped that under her capable leadership, the Bengali nation will fulfill the dream of “Sonar Bangla”.
Both the sides agreed to work jointly for the upcoming visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to China.
In his opening remarks, Foreign Secretary Momen mentioned that Bangladesh attaches significant importance to its relations with China based on shared values, mutual respect and common aspirations. He recalled the visit of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to China during 1952 and 1957 and expected the book “The New China as I saw” to be published in Chinese language before the upcoming VVIP visit.
He highlighted the visit of President Xi Jinping to Bangladesh in 2016 which uplifted the relation to “Strategic Partnership of Cooperation”.
The Bangladesh foreign secretary thanked China for their support in infrastructural development which includes several mega projects. He explained the growing economy of Bangladesh and sought China’s support to facilitate the existing structure of Duty-Free Quota Free (DFQF) access of Bangladeshi products to China.
Momen put emphasis on global cooperation to overcome challenges like pandemic, climate change etc.
He expressed expectation for China’s continued support for the safe and voluntary repatriation of the Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh to their homeland.
The Chinese vice minister welcomed Bangladeshi delegation and expressed his deepest sympathy for the damage incurred by the recent cyclone “Remal”.