DT e-Paper, Saturday, October 15, 2016

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2 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016 DT News Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid in conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the state banquet in Bangabhaban yesterday PID Kachchi was the chow at Bangabhaban • Tribune Desk President Abdul Hamid on Friday entertained visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping with Dhakai Kachchi Biriyani, Shami Kabab and Aloo-Bukhara chutney as he hosted dinner in honour of his Chinese counterpart at Bangabhaban. The Bangladesh President laid out 10 items on the menu for the dinner held at the Darbar Hall of Bangbabhaban, reports UNB. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, former President and Prime Minister’s special envoy HM Ershad and entourage of the Chinese President, among others, attended the dinner. Poached giant king prawn and cream of mushroom soup were served to the guests as starters while smoked Eel fish on crispy salad bed with a drizzle of light oyster sauce was there as Entrée. Chicken Tikka, Kachchi Biriyani with Shami Kabab served with minted house sauce and poppadum; Szechuan style shredded beef with onions, capsicum and mixed vegetables and plain rice were Chinese President Xi Jinping joins Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and President Abdul Hamid for a state banquet and a cultural programme at Bangabhaban yesterday PID served to the guests as main dishes. The high-profile guests got traditional malai chop, seasonal fresh fruits and petit fours as dessert. Prior to the dinner, a cultural programme was organised in honor of Xi Jinping at the Drabar Hall with artistes from Shilpakala Academy performing there. Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam, Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque, President’s Military Secretary Major General Abul Hossain and the Press Secretary Joinal Abedin were present. Earlier, Xi Jinping had a meeting with Abdul Hamid at the Cabinet Hall of the presidential palace. The Chinese President also signed Visitor’s Book at the Bangabhaban. • China, BD firms sign $13.6bn deals • Ibrahim Hossain Ovi A total of 13 agreements of $13.6 billion were signed between Bangladesh and Chinese companies in the areas of infrastructure, construction, energy and transportation. Business people from the two countries signed the agreements at Bangladesh-China Business Forum in Dhaka yesterday. The Forum was organised on the occasion of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s official visit to Bangladesh. Of the 13 Chinese companies, two-thirds are state-owned while the rest are from the private sector. On the other hand, 11 companies of the Bangladesh side are from the private sector. The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) jointly organised the forum. During the signing ceremony, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, FBCCI President Abdul Matlub Ahmed and CCPIT Vice-Chairman Chen Zhou were present among others. “I do believe that the Chinese president will offer $1 billion investment,” FBCCI President Matlub said. Chen Zhou said: “China and Bangladesh are close neighbours and major trade partner in South Asia. We will continue the cooperation in future.” He said that the Chinese investors were interested to invest in manufacturing sector such as textile, spare parts and accessories. “If the Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor is established, the trade and commerce of the two nations will see better future,” Tofail Ahsaid. In July-August period, Bangladesh export to China has seen a 25% rise compared to the same period a year ago. “Total export to China will increase to $2 billion by the next two to three years,” Tofail said. “I have already signed an agreement with the Chinese government on feasibility study of Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which will help materialise the home of $2 billion export,” the minister added. In the last fiscal, Bangladesh earned $808m from exporting goods to China, of which $341m came from the RMG sector. Bangladesh imported products worth $9.64bn during the same period. •
News 3 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016 DT Dhaka receives Xi with warmth • Agencies Bangladesh yesterday rolled out the red carpet as Chinese President Xi Jinping reached Dhaka on a historic two-day state visit, the first by a Chinese head of state in 30 years. Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid received his Chinese counterpart at the VVIP terminal of Dhaka airport at 11:36am, amid a booming 21-gun salute. A young girl accompanying President Hamid presented him with a bouquet. Xi Jinping moved to the saluting dais accompanied by his Bangladesh counterpart, and received guard of honor and inspected the guard. Senior cabinet members, PM’s advisers and senior officials were present on the presentation line. A 13-member high-profile delegation, including Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Finance Minister Lou Jiwei, Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng, Governor of the People’s Bank of China Zhou Xiaochuan, accompanied the Chinese president. A ceremonial motorcade then escorted the Chinese leader to the Le Meridian Hotel amid tight security. The Chinese president will visit the National Martyrs Memorial this morning. He will also sign the visitors’ book and plant a sapling. President Xi will reach the airport straight from Savar and leave for Goa, India at 10am by a special VVIP flight. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will see him off at the airport. Dhaka and Beijing signed nearly three dozen agreements of cooperation yesterday. The visit has taken place three decades after then Chinese president Li Xiannian visited Bangladesh in March, 1986. • $24bn loan will build power plants, seaport, railways • Reuters China is set to sign off on loans worth over $24 billion to Bangladesh during President Xi Jinping’s visit on Friday, Dhaka’s biggest foreign credit line to date that will help it build power plants, a seaport and railways. Xi’s trip, the first by a Chinese president in 30 years, is aimed at boosting China’s involvement in infrastructure projects at a time when India is pushing investments of its own in Bangladesh, a country New Delhi considers its area of influence. China plans to finance around 25 projects, including a 1,320 megawatt (MW) power plant, and is also keen to build a deep sea port. “Xi’s visit will set a new milestone. Record amount of loan agreements will be signed during the visit, roughly $24bn,” he said. Among the proposed projects are highways and information technology development, he said. BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Hotel Le Meridien in Dhaka yesterday evening PID Chinese President Xi Jinping, accompanied by Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid, receives a guard of honour from the armed forces personnel at Dhaka airport upon his arrival yesterday PID “Our infrastructure needs are big, so we need huge loans.” China’s TBEA signed a power grid deal worth $1.6bn with Dhaka Power, following a pact that Jiangsu Etern’s consortium signed on Thursday to strengthen Bangladesh’s power grid network valued at $1.1bn. Beijing is especially keen to revive a plan to build a deep sea port in Sonadia which has been on hold for years, officials said. Zhao Gancheng, director of Khaleda urges Xi to continue assistance • Tribune Desk BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to continue their assistance for Bangladesh’s various activities, especially the development ones, and always stand by it. The BNP chief made the call during a meeting with the visiting Chinese President at a city hotel yesterday evening, reports UNB. During the 30 minute-meeting which kicked off at 5pm, Khaleda and Xi Jinping discussed various bilateral issues, said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir while briefing reporters after the meeting. Quoting Khaleda, Fakhrul said the BNP chief mentioned her late husband and former president Ziaur Rahman, who had established Bangladesh’s diplomatic ties with China. South Asia Studies at Shanghai Institute for International Studies, said both India and China supported development in Bangladesh, and that it did not have to be one or the other. China is currently Bangladesh’s biggest trade partner with annual turnover of around $10bn which is heavily in favour of Beijing. Bangladesh has backed Xi’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative to boost trade and transport links across Asia and into Europe, seeing “Later, an overwhelming relation developed between the two countries that still continues,” Khaleda was quoted by Fakhrul as saying. The BNP chairperson also described China as Bangladesh’s important and genuine friend, Fakhrul said. During the meeting, he said, the Chinese president expressed the hope that Bangladesh would support the role China is playing in the geological field and the development activities it is carrying out. BNP Standing Committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Mahbubur Rahman and Nazrul Islam Khan, chairperson’s advisers Reaz Rahman and Sabihuddin Ahmed were present at the meeting. The Chinese president arrived Dhaka yesterday morning on a historic state visit. • it as an opportunity to lift growth. India has reservations about the plan, amid worries that it is an attempt to build a vast zone of Chinese influence. Beijing had proposed an economic corridor linking Bangladesh, Myanmar, China and northern India, but New Delhi did not seem keen on the idea, Zhao said. Xi visited Dhaka en route to a BRICS summit of the world’s leading emerging economies in Goa, India. • Bangladeshi-born Rupa Huq UK shadow minister • Tribune Desk Dr Rupa Huq, a British Labour Party member of House of Commons, was picked as the shadow minister for Home Affairs by her party leader Jeremy Corbyn yesterday. The move made the Bangladeshi-born MP, elected from Ealing Central and Acton constituency, a Labour Party frontbencher in the British parliament. She bagged 22,002 votes in the May 7, 2015 UK General Elections. Rupa is also senior lecturer at the sociology department of Kingston University. Her ancestral home is in Pabna. “Honoured to take up a shadow ministerial position in Home Affairs on Labour frontbench,” Rupa tweeted after the news of her induction came out. She will be joining Shadow minister of education Angela Rayner’s team. •
Page 1: SECOND EDITION SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15
Page 5 and 6: News 5 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016 H
Page 7 and 8: News 7 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016 D
Page 9 and 10: World Terrified residents flee Rakh
Page 11 and 12: Why it matters: Homegrown extremism
Page 13 and 14: Heritage 13 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2
Page 15 and 16: Learn English 15 SATURDAY, OCTOBER
Page 17 and 18: Dhaka Lit Fest 17 SATURDAY, OCTOBER
Page 19 and 20: Biz Info 19 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2
Page 21 and 22: Opinion 21 The times they are a-cha
Page 23 and 24: Opinion 23 It’s a TV channel jung
Page 25 and 26: BCB XI, England two-dayer called of
Page 27 and 28: Sport 27 DT SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2
Page 29 and 30: Downtime 29 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2
Page 31 and 32: Showtime 31 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2

DT e-Paper, Saturday, October 15, 2016

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