Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, second from right, and her delegation attend a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on July 10, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met President Xi Jinping and her Chinese counterpart Li Qiang in Beijing on July 10 as the two countries signed 21 agreements, MoUs and announced seven more projects to further elevate their strategic cooperative ties.

During the meetings, both countries agreed to elevate their “strategic partnership” to a “comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership,” Bangladesh’s state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) reported.

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China will help Bangladesh economically in four ways by giving grants, interest-free loans, concessional loans and commercial loans, the Chinese President said during the bilateral meeting with Ms. Hasina, it said.

Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Bangladesh’s State Minister at the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications & Information Technology posted a photo of the two leaders’ meeting on X and said, “Hon’ble President of China, H E Mr Xi Jinping met and held a bilateral meeting with the Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday.”

Foreign Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud briefed the newsmen about the outcome of the meeting between the two leaders and described it as: “A very successful discussion was held between the two leaders in a very cordial environment.”

Giving out details about the Li-Hasina meeting, BSS said the agreements were inked in the presence of Ms. Hasina and Mr. Li after the delegation-level talks between the two countries.

Earlier, the Bangladesh Prime Minister was accorded a red carpet reception and greeted by Premier Li as she reached for the bilateral meeting.

The bilateral talks mainly featured the Rohingya issue, business, trade and commerce, investments, and bilateral relations alongside various regional and international matters.

The instruments on cooperation in the economic and banking sector, trade and investment, digital economy, infrastructure development, assistance in disaster management, construction of 6th and 9th Bangladesh-China friendship bridges, export of agricultural products from Bangladesh and people-to-people connectivity were signed, the BSS report said.

Kolkata (West Bengal):

Ahead of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner, Andalib Elias said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will attend the G20 Summit on September 9 and 10. 

Mr Elias further said, “We are also hoping that there will also be a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and PM Sheikh Hasina.”

The G20 Summit is scheduled to be held in the national capital for two days–September 9 and September 10–at the state-of-the-art Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre at Pragati Maidan.

Many heads of state and diplomats, including US President Joe Biden, Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the latest edition of his monthly radio broadcast – “Mann Ki Baat” said that India is fully geared to host the G20 Summit. He added that the summit next month, which is being hosted under India’s presidency of the G20, will give the world an insight into the country’s potential and rising global heft. 

Moreover, on behalf of India-Bangladesh Maitri Sangha, a memorial meeting was organised to mark the 48th martyrdom anniversary of Bangabandhu and the National Mourning Day of Bangladesh in Kolkata on Sunday, a press release said. 

The meeting was organised to share the sorrow and grief of Bangladeshi people due to the heinous killing of the Father of the Nation of Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. 

Member of Parliament Mahbubul Alam Hanif, Joint Secretary of Bangladesh Awami League, was present on the occasion as chief guest. 

Whereas, Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner Andalib Elias and Bangladesh Pratidin Editor Naem Nizam attended the programme as special guests. In addition, dignitaries from both India and Bangladesh graced the occasion.

Furthermore, Mahbubul Alam Hanif congratulated India for the soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on August 23. 

“We are really proud of India for successfully landing Chandrayaan-3,” he said.  

As the Vikram lander carrying the Pragyaan rover in its belly touched down on the lunar surface, it marked a giant leap in India’s spacefaring journey providing a well-deserved finale to ISRO’s long years of toil.

This makes India the fourth country – after the US, China, and Russia – to have successfully landed on the moon’s surface, it has earned a place in record books as the first to touchdown on the south side of Earth’s only natural satellite.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)