Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain will pay a bilateral visit to China on January 20-24 which is described as “very important first bilateral visit” after the formation of the interim government led by Prof Muhammad Yunus in August last year.
“This visit is a great opportunity to further strengthen and deepen the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and China,” Spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Mohammad Rafiqul Alam told reporters at a weekly media briefing on Thursday.
The progress of ongoing cooperation in areas such as increasing economic cooperation and expanding trade and investment will be reviewed during the visit in order to formulate the future outline of the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and China, Alam said.
The visit will also focus on cooperation in the areas of agriculture, education, infrastructure, renewable energy and a sustainable solution to the Rohingya crisis, he said.
During this visit, at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Adviser Hossain will discuss various issues of mutual interest with his Chinese counterpart.
Bangladesh and China are going to celebrate the golden jubilee of their diplomatic relations in 2025. To this end, both countries have taken various programs.
“This visit will be an auspicious start to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries,” Spokesperson Alam said.
Alam said China is a notable strategic partner of Bangladesh, one of the largest commercial and important development partners.
He said the relations between Bangladesh and China are multidimensional and the bilateral relations with China, at this moment, have been upgraded to the “Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership”.
The annual trade volume between Bangladesh and China is about US$ 25 billion, although this trade balance is not favorable to Bangladesh.
It is expected that this visit will discuss the restructuring of the trade balance as well as increasing Chinese investment in various sectors in Bangladesh, said the Spokesperson.
For the better treatment of students and the general public injured in the Anti-Discrimination Movement that took place last July, China first sent a high-level medical delegation of 10 members from the ‘National Health Commission of China’.
They visited various hospitals and provided medical assistance, and assured to establish a specialised hospital and rehabilitation center for the better treatment of students and the general public injured in the Anti-Discrimination Movement.
Bangladesh will be interested in discussing this matter, said the Spokesperson.
He said the Foreign Adviser is expected to deliver a speech at the “China Institute of International Studies” and the “Shanghai Institute of International Studies”.
Besides, Alam said, the Adviser will hold a meeting with business representatives from Shanghai, China to increase Chinese investment in Bangladesh.