KUNMING, Mar 20 (UNB): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Saturday expressed her firm conviction in road and rail links being established between Chittagong and Kunming, to boost trade and investment between their respective countries."I believe the leaders of Yunnan province can play an important role in establishing the road and rail links," said the prime minister, while addressing a banquet hosted by the vice-governor of Yunnan province, Li Jiang, at the Empark Grand International Hotel in the centre of Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan.
The proposed road connectivity between Kunming and Chittagong would probably link with the road running from Myanmar to the Chinese city.
Once it is established, Bangladesh would in theory be connected by road to almost the whole of the important Asean (Association of South East Asian Nations) regional bloc's lucrative markets, which include Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia.
Efforts at reviving the connectivity that existed between the various regions of China and the lands that now comprise Myanmar, India and Bangladesh in olden times (the southern Silk Route) received a boost in 1999 with the birth of the Kunming Initiative, in which it was first proposed that a road link be established between China and Bangladesh through Myanmar, and then eventually between India and China.
Sheikh Hasima will return home today after the five-day state visit to China.
During her visit three accords and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) were signed to bolster cooperation in the fields of economy and technology, infrastructure and energy.
The agreements are: Economic and Technical Cooperation with adequate grant, Framework for Construction of Shahjalal Fertiliser Factory, Construction of the 7th Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge and the MoU on Bangladesh-China Cooperation in Oil and Gas sectors.
Hasina returns from China today
FE Team | Published: March 21, 2010 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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