Chinese Ambassador meets Commerce Minister

Yao Wen, the Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh, met with Khandaker Abdul Muktadir, the minister of commerce, today at the Bangladesh Secretariat.

Numerous facets of the two nations’ bilateral trade, investment, and economic cooperation were the main topics of the conference.

China is a long-standing and reliable ally of Bangladesh, one of its biggest development partners, and a significant investor in large-scale projects, the Commerce Minister stated during the meeting. According to a news release from the Commerce Ministry, he asked the Ambassador to promote more Chinese investment in Bangladesh in the upcoming 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 the first 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.