Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said yesterday that Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel had promised to continue aid to the country, after the leaders met in Berlin. “We discussed the infrastructure development,” said Sheikh Hasina. “Germany is always very co-operative. We talked to the chancellor and she promised that she will support our development.” The German Chancellor confirmed they talked about infrastructure in general terms. Hasina had arrived on Sunday on a three-day visit to Germany. Officials in Dhaka said before the trip that the two nations would sign agreements to work together to counter the effects of global warming and improve healthcare in Bangladesh. Low-lying Bangladesh is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries as global warming pushes up world sea levels. Hasina was accompanied by a delegation of Bangladeshi business leaders and had appointments with German business leaders to appeal for investment. The prime minister said high-quality environment-friendly technology of Germany can be very useful in combating the challenges of climate change in Bangaldesh. “Bangladesh wants to benefit from Germany’s high quality environment-friendly technology which is necessary for us to face the challenges of climate change,” she said. Her remarks came when a delegation of Bangladesh German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BGCCI) called on her. BGCCI president Mohammad Saiful Islam led the 17-member delegation, her press secretary Abul Kalam Azad told reporters later. During the meeting, Hasina invited German investors to invest in different sectors, including power, oil, gas, infrastructure, textiles, shipbuilding, leather, steel, information technology, pharmaceuticals and agro-processing. She said: “Germany can invest in infrastructures, power generation, seaport and deep seaport-like ventures under the public-private partnership.” “The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Germany can help Bangladesh with renewable energy technology,” she told the delegation. The prime minister also enumerated various facilities that can be provided to the investors by the Bangladesh government. DPA