Chinese envoy, commerce minister eye major investments in Bangladesh

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen met Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir at his office at Bangladesh Secretariat on Wednesday.

Both sides expressed their interest to bring in major Chinese investment to Bangladesh over the next five years, read a Commerce Ministry press release.

The meeting also focused on various aspects of bilateral trade, and economic cooperation between the two countries.

During the meeting, the Commerce Minister said China is a long-tested and trusted friend of Bangladesh and one of its largest development partners as well as a major investor in large-scale projects. He requested the Ambassador to encourage increased Chinese investment in Bangladesh in the coming years.

Mentioning that Bangladesh has six fertiliser factories, the Minister said production is often disrupted due to gas shortages. He noted that the government is seeking investors capable of operating fertiliser factories by importing LNG and assured that the government would purchase the fertiliser produced.

In his capacity as Textiles and Jute Minister, Muktadir also invited Chinese investors to invest in Bangladesh’s closed jute mills.

He further said China could extend cooperation in developing Bangladesh’s digital infrastructure, establishing e-learning centres and advancing artificial intelligence technologies. Such collaboration would further strengthen bilateral relations, he hoped.

The Chinese Ambassador congratulated the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) for securing an absolute mandate in the 13th parliamentary election and congratulated Muktadir on assuming office as Commerce Minister.

He said China is keen to enhance investment in Bangladesh to support job creation, adding that China would bring in major investment under the newly elected government. He also expressed optimism that significant changes would take place over the next five years under the BNP-led government.

At the meeting, the Ambassador invited the Commerce Minister to visit China.

State Minister for Commerce Md Shariful Alam, Additional Secretary (Export) Md Abdur Rahim Khan and Additional Secretary (FTA) Ayesha Akter were present, among others.