Khaleda urges Xi to continue assistance to Bangladesh

BNP Chairperson and former premier Khaleda Zia on Friday urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to continue their assistance for Bangladesh’s various activities, especially the development ones, and always stand by it. The BNP chief made the call during a meeting with the visiting Chinese president at a city hotel in the evening. During the 30 minute-meeting which kicked off at 5pm, Khaleda and Xi Jinping discussed various bilateral issues, said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir while briefing reporters after the meeting. Quoting Khaleda, Fakhrul said that the BNP chief mentioned her late husband and former president Ziaur Rahman, who had established Bangladesh’s diplomatic ties with China. “Later, an overwhelming relation developed between the two countries that still continues,” Khaleda was quoted by Fakhrul as saying. The BNP chief also described China as Bangladesh’s important and genuine friend, Fakhrul said. During the meeting, he said, the Chinese president expressed the hope that Bangladesh would support the role China is playing in the geological field and the development activities it is carrying out. BNP Standing Committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Mahbubur Rahman and Nazrul Islam Khan, and chairperson’s advisers Reaz Rahman and Sabihuddin Ahmed were present at the meeting. The Chinese president arrived in Dhaka on Friday morning on a historic state visit.