China has provided training to Bangladeshis, especially government senior officials, to amplify the advantages of Bangladesh’s human resources to boost the economy.
Many Bangladeshis have been trained to be skilled engineers through their work experiences in Chinese construction project sites and even transferred to work in Chinese projects overseas.
Song Yang, Economic and Commercial Counsellor of the Embassy of China in Bangladesh, made the remarks while speaking at the reunion programme on China-Bangladesh Human Resources Development Cooperation and Reunion of Participants of Chinese Government Training Programmes.
The Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh organized the programme at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the capital on Saturday.
“With mutual efforts between China and Bangladesh, I strongly believe our two countries will work together to enhance our human resources development cooperation to a higher level and cultivate new highlights in people-to-people exchanges in the future” Song Yang mentioned.
China, as a faithful friend and reliable strategic partner, has always been standing firmly with Bangladesh, for not only in the fight against various challenges, in infrastructure development, but also in trade, investment and finance, human resources development, and more future oriented in-depth development cooperation areas, he added.
Md Shahriar Kader Siddiky, additional secretary and wing chief of the Economic Relations Division, said as the chief guest, “China is a friend of ours. We highly appreciate helping to create skilled employment which will help develop our country. We have learnt many things from China in terms of developing the economy and technical sites in the country.”
The bilateral relationship between Bangladesh and China is very good and will be continued, he said, urging that we want more cooperation from China to develop the nation.
“We are very happy to have about 60 trainees, representing about 400 outstanding Bangladeshi officials and technicians who have finished the Chinese Government Training Courses held online this year,” said Gu Zhiqin, Second Secretary of the Embassy of China in Bangladesh.
She said since 2013, more than 3600 officials and technical staff attended Chinese government seminars and training courses, mostly offline before 2020, and online for the recent past two years.
73 Bangladeshi officials and young scholars have been recommended to pursue a higher degree in China funded by the scholarship of China’s Ministry of Commerce, she mentioned.
Higher officials of the China Embassy said China has been the largest trading partner of Bangladesh for the past 12 consecutive years.
In 2021, the trade volume of goods between China and Bangladesh increased by 58 percent, which showed the strong resilience of bilateral trade under COVID-19.
Imported raw materials for ready-made garment industry and mechanical equipment have boosted Bangladesh’s export oriented economy and industrial upgrading.
China has become the largest FDI source country of Bangladesh in terms of gross flow of FDI (amounts to 940 million) for the FY2022, and has been ranked top in terms of foreign investors in the eight EPZs (with 104 investors).
The cooperation between China and Bangladesh under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework has been extremely fruitful over the years.
The Payra Power Plant, a joint venture between Chinese and Bangladeshi enterprises, which has played a positive role for the 100 percent electricity coverage of Bangladesh, was put into operation this March.
The Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant, the largest across the region, was put into use in August.
The Bangamata 8th Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge, built with Chinese grant, was opened for traffic in September.
The south tube of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel under the Karnaphuli river was completed last month (on November 26th), and may be open for traffic very soon.
“We have kept exploring more opportunities for cooperation in higher-end industries. We’re encouraging more high-value added industries to be invested in the Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone in Chittagong to upgrade the level of production capacity of Bangladesh. All the above mentioned are symbols and vivid epitomes of our friendship and cooperative fruits” Song Yang said.
Many government officials of Bangladesh and China also spoke at the programme.
