Staff Reporter :
Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali on Thursday said the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Bangladesh will not affect relations with other countries, particularly neighbouring India.
Mentioning the foreign policy of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ‘friendship to all, malice towards none’ he said, “We don’t want enmity with anybody.The foreign minister made the remark during a press conference at his office in response to a query whether Xi’s visit will affect ties with other countries like India.
The Chinese president is expected to arrive in Dhaka on a state visit this (Friday) morning.
The question came as a Chinese newspaper Global Times in an editorial wrote that closer ties between Beijing and Dhaka may put pressure on New Delhi to rethink its strategy in South Asia and encourage it to better its relations with Beijing.
According to the daily, India need not be “jealous” of increasing ties between Dhaka and Beijing and it was wrong to think that Xi’s trip to Bangladesh was “to snatch the South Asian country from the embrace of New Delhi”.
Addressing the press conference, the minister said over 25 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on different development issues, including economic cooperation, fresh investment, power and energy, agriculture, water management and blue economy, are expected to be signed in presence of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Xi Jinping.
Terming Xi’s visit as the unprecedented success of the Awami League-led government, he said it proves the confidence of world leaders in the current government.
The relations between the two countries will elevate to a newer height with the much-awaited visit of President Xi Jinping, he added.
During his visit, Xi is expected to meet with President Abdul Hamid, Parliament Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury, and hold talks with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Meanwhile, Beijing termed the president’s visit a “milestone” and said he would push forward cooperation within the framework of China’s ‘belt and road initiative’.
The ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative that promotes regional and cross-continental connectivity between China and Eurasia is the centre piece of China’s economic diplomacy.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in an interview with China’s state-run news agency Xinhua expressed confidence that the visit would usher in “a new era of intensive cooperation” in trade, investment and other sectors between the two countries.
