Experts discuss development experience of China, Bangladesh, calling for strengthening cooperation

DHAKA, March 26 (Xinhua) -- A seminar with theme of "Development and Governance Experience in China and Bangladesh" was held here Monday to discuss sustainable development, social governance, communication and mutual learning among civilizations.

The seminar, held by the Center for China Studies (CCS) of Dhaka University, attracted over 20 experts and scholars from various field at home and aboard to participate.

Chen Dongxiao, president of Shanghai institutes for international studies, said that for developing countries, economic and social development is always the top priority. China has put forward the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative. The Belt and Road Initiative is a concrete practice and preliminary exploration of the implementation of the three initiatives.

Chen said that China and Bangladesh have fruitful achievements under the Belt and Road Initiative, which is a concrete manifestation of the exchange of experience in development and national governance between the two countries.

"In the future, it is believed that the two countries will surely make greater achievements in development," Chen added.

Stefan Liller, resident representative in Bangladesh of the United Nations Development Program, said that in this interconnected area where digital technologies bridge vast distances and environmental changes know no borders, the urgency for collaboration has never been greater.

"In this light, this initiative by China and Bangladesh to establish the Center for China Studies of Dhaka University, emphasizing development, cooperation and cultural exchanges, marks a very positive development," Liller said, adding "we must address escalating challenges by strengthening international cooperation and establishing partnership for knowledge exchange and sustainable cooperation."

Noting that Bangladesh is not only an important partner of China but one of the first countries in South Asia to join the Belt and Road Initiative, Farid Uddin Ahmed, vice chancellor of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, said that China and Bangladesh are seeing an increasing convergence of interests and have become a community of shared future.

Susan Vize, head of office and country representative to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, believed that partnerships like CCS are part of the process of finding solutions to global challenges.

"Because this is a space for exchange and intercultural dialogue, and this bringing together of different cultures, different societies, and different systems that enable us to develop risk responses that the whole world can get behind and to develop," Vize said.

"It is my deep expectation that the CCS will contribute to the cooperation between China, Bangladesh and international organizations through jointly participation in global governance and the solution of global poverty and hunger," said Shi Jiaoqun, country representative for Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Bangladesh.

In his speech, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen shared the prospects and expectations for exchanges and cooperation between think tanks and scholars from both countries.

"It is hoped that in the future, the center could strengthen the research on Chinese modernization, increase exchanges and dialogues between Chinese and Bangladeshi scholars, thereby offering practical suggestions for synergizing development strategies between Bangladesh and China, nurturing a conducive public discourse for the advancement of China-Bangladesh relations," said the ambassador.