DIU holds webinar on China’s Belt and Road initiative

Daffodil International University (DIU) Belt and Road Research Centre (DBRRC) has successfully organised its 1st Webinar as a part of the year-long series of activities entitled "China-Bangladesh Trade Relations: A Search for New Opportunities under the Belt and Road Initiative" on Monday (28 February).

Professor Dr Mohammed Masum Iqbal, dean, Faculty of Business and Entrepreneurship (FBE), Daffodil International University and director, Daffodil International University Belt and Road Research Centre chaired the meeting.

Dr Sultana Yesmin, former visiting research fellow, Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences (YASS) was the keynote speaker at the meeting while Dr AKM Mohsin, the deputy director of the DIU Belt and Road Research Centre was moderating the session along with his team members.

Professor Dr M Lutfar Rahman, vice-chancellor, Daffodil International University was present at the virtual meeting as the chief guest. Al Mamun Mridha, joint secretary general, Bangladesh China Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCCI); Chen Xiao, secretary-general, Chengdu (China) Association for Foreign Trade and Economic; Jiang Longtao, director, Bangladesh Branch, Chengdu (China) Association for Foreign Trade and Economic were present as the special guest.

Dr M. Lutfar Rahman said in the webinar that the implementation of this great initiative will reduce costs of transport and benefit Bangladesh through enhanced trade and investment.

"This will create opportunities for employment and income. Bangladesh's enhanced competitive strength through BRI will help it become better integrated into the global economy. Furthermore, I appreciated the initiative taken by the Faculty of Business and Entrepreneurship of Daffodil International University in order to establish a complete China-based Think-Tank Research Centre in Bangladesh. I hope they will continue to work on promoting the economic prosperity of the countries along with the belt and road and regional economic cooperation, strengthen exchanges and mutual learning between different civilizations, and promote world peace and development," he said. 

Chen Xiao said in the Webinar that the economic and trade exchanges between Bangladesh and China have a long history. The earliest trade records can even be traced back to the "Southern Silk Road" starting from Chengdu during China's Qin and Han Dynasties more than 2,200 years ago. After the founding of Bangladesh, China has quickly become an important partner of Bangladesh's foreign trade. In recent years, with the implementation of the "Belt and Road Initiative", the bilateral trade volume and growth rate between China and Bangladesh have reached the best level in history, he remarked. 

"Since our establishment, we are continuing to promote economic and trade exchanges and cooperation between Chengdu and South Asian countries. We actively responded to the 'Belt and Road Initiative', various online and offline activities have been held in various forms and contents, providing communication opportunities for enterprises of the two countries and stimulating discussions on the realization of more investment projects and cooperation opportunities between enterprises of the two countries," he said. 

DIU Belt and Road Research Center aims to produce academic and policy papers and enable the development of area-specific research topics on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)