Chinese PM's visit to Bangladesh successful: report

Given the emphasis laid on specific areas of cooperation between Bangladesh and China, the visit of Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to Bangladesh on April 7-8, even though short, should be considered as a successful one, a local newspaper said Sunday.

Commenting on the outcome of the visit, The New Age said in an editorial that in the Joint Communique issued at the end of the Chinese premier's visit, the Chinese side offered to assist Bangladesh include, among others, nuclear energy, water management, trade and investment, training of security and defense personnel, infrastructure development, technical assistance, tourism, construction and communication.

During the visit, the Chinese premier pointedly mentioned that his country would offer concessional facilities for imports from Dhaka to narrow the trade gap between the two countries and would also give fiscal incentives to Chinese entrepreneurs for investing in Bangladesh in three sectors, namely, home appliances, light engineering and agro-based industries, the editorial said.

Declaring 2005 as the "Year of China-Bangladesh Friendship" to mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the Joint Communique represents an agreement to promote development of multi-dimensional and multi-level trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, the editorial said.

"This appears quite significant that it tends to suggest serious commitment of the Chinese side to promote closer bilateral economic ties at a much higher level than it exists now," it added.

This is because they have also talked about finding and developing the potential areas where the two sides could effectively participate for the benefit of both countries, the editorial noted, adding that "this is something that one does not usually find in such joint statements or communiques."

The editorial stressed that two of the nine agreements signed during the visit are "politically significant."

They are to help develop nuclear power generation capacity, nuclear medicine and biotechnology in Bangladesh by China and cooperation in the field of water resources, utilize and protect water resources of transnational rivers in the region keeping in mind the principle of equality and fairness, it said, adding that these agreements are expected to deepen Dhaka's bilateral ties with Beijing.