By Mizan Rahman
Visiting China’s Yunnan province governor Li Jiheng yesterday said that Bangladesh would become a hot destination for global investment in the coming days as it pursued sound economy policies.
The Yunnan province governor made the observation when he met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office in Dhaka.
Briefing newsmen after the meeting PM’s special assistant Mahbubul Hoque Shakil said that the Yunnan governor handed over an official invitation letter to the Prime Minister to join the China-South Asia Expo to be held in Kunming in the first week of June.
Accepting the invitation, Hasina said she would try to be present at the exposition, hoping that this exposition would be a golden opportunity for the South Asian countries, including Bangladesh, to enhance their trade and
commerce.
Lauding the hospitality of the Bangladesh government, the Yunnan province governor said the Bangladesh-China relationship is tested in time and the Yunnan province is the next door neighbour to
Bangladesh.
Recalling Hasina’s visit to Kunming in 2010, Governor Li Jiheng felicitated the prime minister for winning the January 5 election with absolute majority.
The governor said that China had always been with the people of Bangladesh and would remain so in the future.
Mentioning the achievement of around 6% GDP growth by Bangladesh on average in the last few years, the Yunnan Province Governor said this was possible due to the solid leadership of Hasina and her pledge to the people of Bangladesh.
Prime Minister Hasina thanked the Yunnan governor for continued support of the Chinese government as well as the people of China towards the advancement of Bangladesh’s democracy and
development.
She also extended her thanks to China for the way it has supported Bangladesh to maintain the continuity of democracy in the country through the January 5 election.
Noting the importance of connectivity between Bangladesh and Yunnan, Hasina said that following her visit to Kunming in 2010, the two-way trade, commerce and investment have increased manifold and the rising trend would continue further in the days to come.
Emphasising the need for setting up of roads and rail connectivity between Bangladesh and Kunming via Myanmar, she said that such connectivity would increase to a great extent the trade and commerce between the two.
The prime minister said that if the economic corridor of BCIM (Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar) is implemented fully, then all the four member countries would
benefit from this forum.
The Yunnan governor is currently on a three-day official visit to Bangladesh to discuss possible areas of mutual co-operation between the two countries. He is leading a six-member delegation that includes high officials of the government of Yunnan Province.
