Hasina seeks more Chinese investment

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday sought more Chinese investment in the country's various sectors to accelerate the development efforts.

The prime minister came up with the call when visiting Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Kong Xuanyou met her at her office in the capital.

Her Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting.

Terming the existing Bangladesh-China relations wonderful, Hasina thanked Xuanyou for his country's continued support to the development efforts of Bangladesh.

Referring to the Chinese president's upcoming visit to Bangladesh, she said her government was waiting to receive Xi Jinping.

The Chinese assistant minister said he had fruitful discussions with the Bangladesh foreign secretary about increasing the Bangladesh-China cooperation in days ahead.

He said his country would speed up work for implementing the major agreements and MoUs signed with Bangladesh government through discussions.

Xuanyou also assured Hasina that China would cooperate with Bangladesh to help attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Lauding the current socioeconomic development of Bangladesh, the Chinese Assistant Minister termed it "remarkable" to achieve 7.05 percent GDP growth in the current fiscal year despite sluggish world economy.

About the regional cooperation initiatives like BCIM-EC, Hasina said this would help increase trade and commerce and it would open up a new door in the region.