Bangladesh supports the One Belt One Road, a Chinese initiative, to revive old Silk Route through land and sea for economic development.
“We are party to it and support it,” Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque told the Dhaka Tribune.
Beijing formally approached Dhaka to join the initiative and expressed its desire to sign a memorandum of understanding to seal the deal, he said.
“We asked for the concept paper. We will decide about it after getting it,” the foreign secretary said adding that Bangladesh wants to know how China wants to materialise the mammoth project.
One Belt One Road is a Chinese framework for organising multinational economic development primarily in Eurasia through two main components, the land-based Silk Road and oceangoing Maritime Silk Road.
It was unveiled by Chinese leader Xi Jinping in September and October 2013.
During the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to China last year, the issue was discussed between the two leaders.
Bangladesh wants to make it as a transit hub and engage in many initiatives to connect all the neighbouring countries in South and Southeast Asia.
“We are discussing a number of connectivity projects including BBIN, BCIM initiative and Bimstec,” said an official of the Foreign Ministry seeking anonymity. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal [BBIN] connectivity project is at final stage and expected to be signed next month, the official said.
Bangladesh Communications Minister Obaidul Quader is now in New Delhi and had a fruitful meeting on the BBIN with his Indian counterpart Nitin Gadkari, the official added.
On May 15, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Tsinghua University in Beijing said New Delhi and Beijing both sought to connect fragmented Asia.
“There are projects we will pursue individually. There are few such as the Bangladesh China India Myanmar [BCIM] Corridor that we are doing jointly,” Modi said.
The BCIM economic corridor initiative is almost at final stage. The second joint study group meeting of the initiative was held in Bangladesh last year. The next meeting will be held in India this year.