Bangladesh will act as a bridge between the economic powerhouses in East Asia and South Asia in near future which will give Dhaka a unique position of strength not only in South Asia but also within Asia, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday.
Wang Yi said this during a meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart Dr Dipu Moni on the sidelines of the 20th ARF in Bandar Seri Begawan on Monday, said a Foreign Ministry release.
The Chinese Foreign Minister reiterated China’s interest in helping Bangladesh develop a deep sea port in Sonadia.
He also assured of continued proactive measures on China’s part to help increase Bangladesh’s exports to the Chinese market, under the recently introduced duty-free market access for almost 95 percent of Bangladeshi products, and thereby address the existing trade imbalance in favour of China.
The two ministers hoped that the recent agreement reached between India and China on setting up of an economic corridor involving Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar would play a crucial role in realising some of the untapped development potentials in the sub-region.
In this context, the Chinese Foreign Minister mooted the proposal to set up a joint taskforce among the four countries to move towards implementing the project.
Dipu Moni reaffirmed Bangladesh’s foreign policy priority to establish road and rail links between Chittagong and Kunming through Myanmar.
She also sought the Chinese government’s assistance in setting up the Chancery building for the newly opened Bangladesh Consulate in Kunming.
The Foreign Minister invited her Chinese counterpart to visit Bangladesh at a mutually convenient date soon.
Meeting with Russian Federation
Dipu Moni also had a bilateral meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey V Lavrov and sought enhanced duty-, quota-free access for Bangladesh’s key export products to the Russian market.
The Russian minister observed that the visit of the Prime Minister to Moscow in January this year added a new impetus to the existing bilateral relations.
The two ministers expressed satisfaction over the steady growth in trade between the two countries on a year-to-year basis.
Dipu Moni raised the issue of expediting the conclusion of some of the bilateral agreements that remained under consideration between the two sides.
The Russian Foreign Minister highlighted the recent signing of the bilateral contract between the two sides to conduct a feasibility study on the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant under a Russian State Credit Loan.
The Foreign Minister also sought Russian support for facilitating Bangladesh’s entry into the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) as an observer.
Meeting with Indonesia
During her meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Dr R M Marty Natalegawa, Dipu Moni requested the Indonesian side to confirm the dates for the next bilateral Joint Commission meeting at the Foreign Minister level to be held in Dhaka.
The Indonesian Foreign Minister thanked Bangladesh for supporting various initiatives taken by his government within the regional and international contexts.
He stressed the need for the two countries to maintain cooperation on issues of common concern including preventing trafficking in persons and protection of migrant workers.
The two ministers also exchanged views on the situation of the Muslim minorities in the Rakhine State in Myanmar.
Meeting with Vietnam
At her meeting with Vietnam Foreign Minister Pahm Binh Minh, Dipu Moni urged the need for facilitating the visa regime for business people and tourists to further boost two-way trade and tourism.
The Vietnam Foreign Minister agreed that the excellent political relations between the two countries needed to be matched by enhanced trade and economic cooperation.
Dipu Moni reaffirmed Bangladesh’s interest in joining the East-West Economic Corridor and the Mekong-Ganges Cooperation initiative.
Meeting with Brunei
Dipu Moni also met her Brunei counterpart Prince Mohamed Bolkiah and thanked the government of Brunei for hosting a large number of Bangladeshi expatriate workers.
The two ministers agreed to enhance cooperation in the fields of defence training and oil and gas exploration through exchange of professionals and students.
The Foreign Minister requested Brunei in its capacity as current Asean Chair to mobilise support in favour of Bangladesh’s request to become a Dialogue Partner with Asean.
