Bangladesh is considered a hot land for development, as over the past decades, the country has impressed the world with its steady and fast growth.
As an amicable neighbor and strategic partner of cooperation, China deeply engages itself with Bangladesh for joint development, said Li Jiming, ambassador of China to Bangladesh.
He made the remarks at a gala dinner to celebrate the 25th anniversary of "Hong Kong's return to China".
Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office in Bangkok (HKETO) and the Overseas Chinese Association in Bangladesh OCAIB jointly organised the event at a hotel in Dhaka on Saturday.
Li Jiming delivered a speech on "Bangladesh and China's Hong Kong: Two Pearls Illuminating Each Other" at the programme.
In his speech, he mentioned Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to Bangladesh last month and said the two countries vowed to further integrate Vision 2041 with the Belt and Road Initiative, and deepen cooperation on infrastructure, digital economy and green development.
Looking ahead, the two countries show significant cooperation potentials in the fields of agribusiness, food processing industry, ICT, wind and solar power, and so on, he said.
The ambassador talked about the strong bond between Hong Kong and Bangladesh in his speech.
“There is also a strong economic bond between China’s Hong Kong and Bangladesh. As of 2021, direct investment in Bangladesh originating from Hong Kong amounted to over 1.15 billion US dollars, accounting for 5.4% of Bangladesh’s total FDI stock. Trade between the two custom regions hit over 14 billion HK dollars,” he continued.
He opined that since both Hong Kong and Bangladesh developed their legal systems based on the common law tradition, a closer communication on the rule of law and good governance can surely help to improve the local business environment, and thereby benefit all stakeholders.
The Ambassador said since 1997, the number of foreign consular missions in Hong Kong has increased from 88 to 119, ranking only second to New York. As of now, Hong Kong is a member of 97 intergovernmental organizations, and hosts over 20 international legal agencies. It has signed 600 bilateral agreements with foreign countries and opened 14 overseas economic and trade offices.
“There is no doubt that, under the guidance of “one country, two systems”, Hong Kong, the Pearl of the Orient, will keep stunning the world. At the same time, I also see Bangladesh, the Pearl of the Subcontinent, rising from the Bay of Bengal. The two pearls can shine together and illuminate each other. I call on all friends from Bangladesh and China, including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, to work together on the way towards common prosperity and a shared future for mankind,” said Li Jiming.
Among others Sheung-yuen LEE，Director of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Economic and Trade Office in Bangkok, Calvin Ngan, President of Overseas Chinese Association in Bangladesh, Pauline Ngan, Permanent Honorary President of Overseas Chinese Association in Bangladesh, and Shah Mohammad Mahboob, Joint Secretary, Director General (International Investment Promotion) of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) also spoke at the event.
Besides, CHAN Kwok Ki, Eric, GBS, IDSM, JP, the Chief Secretary for Administration of Hong Kong SAR, CHAN Mo Po, Paul, GBM, GBS, MH, JP, the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong SAR, YAU Ying Wah, Algernon, JP, the Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development also delivered their speeches online.
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Bangkok (Bangkok Economic and Trade Office) was established on February 28, 2019. It has been more than three years since the establishment of the ETO in Dubai last year, and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR Government) now has a total of 14 ETOs overseas.
The Bangkok ETO is the third ETO established by the HKSAR Government in the ASEAN region after Singapore and Jakarta. Our geographic coverage covers three ASEAN member countries, including Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar, as well as another promising country, Bangladesh.
Hong Kong and Bangladesh are economic partners in Asia with close and friendly relations. In the past two years, Hong Kong is Bangladesh's sixth largest source of foreign direct investment and one of the country's top 20 export destinations. In 2021, bilateral trade totalled US$1.8 billion.
Hong Kong also plays an important role in trade between Bangladesh and mainland China: in 2021, merchandise trade between the two countries via Hong Kong was worth US$1.4 billion, or 7% of the total.