B Mirror Report: Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen met Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir at his office in the Bangladesh Secretariat on Thursday to discuss strengthening bilateral trade, investment and economic cooperation.

The discussions covered a wide range of issues related to expanding economic collaboration between the two countries, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Commerce.

During the meeting, the commerce minister described China as a time-tested and reliable friend of Bangladesh and one of its key development partners as well as a major investor in large infrastructure projects. He urged the Chinese Ambassador to encourage more Chinese investors to explore opportunities in Bangladesh in the coming years.

Referring to the country’s fertiliser sector, Muktadir said Bangladesh currently has six fertiliser factories, but production is frequently affected by gas shortages. He noted that the government is looking for investors who can operate fertiliser plants by importing liquefied natural gas (LNG), assuring that the government would purchase the fertiliser produced locally.

In his role as Textiles and Jute Minister, he also invited Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in Bangladesh’s closed jute mills to help revive the sector.

The Minister further highlighted opportunities for Chinese cooperation in developing Bangladesh’s digital infrastructure, establishing e-learning centres and advancing artificial intelligence technologies, expressing hope that such partnerships would further deepen bilateral relations.

Ambassador Yao Wen congratulated the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on securing a decisive mandate in the 13th parliamentary election and extended his congratulations to Muktadir on his appointment as Commerce Minister.

He said China is eager to expand its investment in Bangladesh to support employment generation and added that the first major Chinese investment under the newly elected government would be announced soon. He also expressed confidence that the BNP-led government would bring significant progress over the next five years.

During the meeting, the Chinese Ambassador invited the Commerce Minister to visit China.

State Minister for Commerce Md. Shariful Alam, Additional Secretary (Export) Md. Abdur Rahim Khan and Additional Secretary (FTA) Ayesha Akter, among others, were present at the meeting.