Bangladesh, China plan year-long festivity

Bangladesh and China plan to commemorate 40 years of diplomatic ties next year with year-long celebrations. State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam has said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina instructed them to take preparations. ‘We’ll discuss with all relevant ministries about the celebrations,’ Shahriar Alam said in the city on Thursday evening. He informed that the year long programme to mark the 40 years of diplomatic ties between Dhaka and Beijing had been discussed during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s just-concluded China visit. He said China would invite 100 Bangladeshi youths as part of the bonhomie. China established diplomatic and military relations with Bangladesh 40 years ago. People-to-people exchanges had crossed 70,000 last year and the two-way trade soared to over $ 10 billion, according to bdnews24.com.