BNP's ties with China strengthened through successful visit: Fakhrul

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday night said his party's relationship with the Communist Party of China (CPC) has become stronger through their successful visit to the country.

"This was a political visit. We went to China at the invitation of the Communist Party of China, and it was a very successful tour. We had a good meeting with the CPC's Politburo. The party-to-party relationship has become deeper and stronger," he said while talking to reporters at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka upon his return from China.

Fakhrul said the CPC invited BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, and the CPC leaders are happy with his leadership. "We also invited them... they accepted it."

He informed that they discussed signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the BNP and the CPC to hold a political dialogue within the next two years.

"We were very impressed to see the progress China has made under the leadership of President Xi Jinping. China has reached a higher level in recent years with its economic, social, and political strength," the BNP leader said.

Fakhrul said he believed that China's outstanding progress would not only benefit Bangladesh but also play an important role in maintaining global balance.

Earlier, a nine-member high-level delegation of the BNP, led by Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, returned home from China after a five-day visit.

They reached Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 10:40pm on a flight of Air China from Guangzhou. Officials from the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka welcomed them at the airport.

The BNP leaders went to Beijing, China on Saturday night. During their trip, they held formal meetings with senior CPC leaders.

The BNP delegation also visited the Museum of the Communist Party, the Great Wall, and several development sites including China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation in Beijing, a Smart City and Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone in Xi'an, Xi'an Jiaotong University, and a village in Shaanxi Province.

The eight other BNP delegation members are BNP Standing Committee members Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Begum Selima Rahman; chairperson's advisers Zahir Uddin Swapan, Ismail Zabiullah, Sukomal Barua; the party's media cell convener Moudud Hossain Alamgir Pavel; and BNP Chairperson's Personal Secretary ABM Abdus Sattar.