Describing the recently held tripartite meeting as an effort to have “concrete cooperation” in certain areas, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen on Wednesday said China are working with Bangladesh and Pakistan to follow up and implement the consensus they reached.
“We have already identified 12 areas for concrete cooperation including industry, trade, education, environment protection, and water resources. There will be some follow up and we are working with Bangladesh and Pakistan to follow up and implement this consensus,” he told reporters after attending a seminar titled “China-Bangladesh Industrial and Supply Chain Cooperation”, hosted by the Chinese Enterprises Association in Bangladesh (CEAB), where they released their “Industry Reports”.
Ambassador Yao said that the meeting, held recently in Kunming, was part of an initiative to have their cooperation to improve economic development and livelihoods of all three countries: Bangladesh, China, and Pakistan.
“We are at a very critical juncture right now. There are so many things we can work together on. I see as a point of common interest for all three countries,” said the Chinese ambassador.
He stressed that the principle of cooperation is to remain open, maintain transparency and ensure mutual benefits. “Our cooperation is based on mutual trust. It is an open and transparent process. It does not target any other country. That is the message to convey,” said Ambassador Yao.
Executive Chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, along with representatives from concerned agencies and departments of the Bangladesh government and business leaders from both countries were present.
Previously, Bangladesh, China and Pakistan had identified several areas for deeper cooperation, including infrastructure, connectivity, trade, investment, healthcare, agriculture, maritime affairs, ICT, disaster preparedness, and climate change issues during an “informal trilateral meeting” on the sidelines of the 9th China-South Asia Exposition and the 6th China-South Asia Cooperation meeting in Kunming on June 19.
On June 26, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain had ruled out the formation of any new alliance between the three countries, stressing that the decision was made with no intention of specifically targeting neighbouring India.
“We are not forming any alliance. It was a meeting at the official level, not at the political level,” the foreign adviser had told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last month.