China is ready to join with other countries in the construction of a deep seaport either at Cox’s Bazar’s Sonadia or Patuakhali’s Payra, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ma Mingqiang said yesterday. “For the cooperation with other countries for deep sea port, we are open. A deep sea port, whether it is in Sonadia or Payra or whatever else, first of all it is a port of Bangladesh. The owner is the Bangladesh government and its people,” he told a questioner at a programme styled ‘DCAB Talk’ organised by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh at the National Press Club. “It is a Bangladeshi port... You cannot move it to China or any country. Certainly the port is open to users as long as you pay for service. It is not exclusively for certain countries or certain purposes. We are here to cooperate. If there is a port, of course, we are willing to work with any country,” said the Ambassador, flanked by DCAB President Angur Nahar Monty and General Secretary Pantho Rahman. If China is needed to work with other countries, it is here with sincerity, he added. To another question, the envoy said that two Chinese companies had shown interest for constructing deep sea port in Sonadia. Deep seaport at Sonadia is no longer a priority project for Bangladesh, rather the government is now focusing on Payra, he observed. “Whether it is Payra or Sonadia, it is very important to have a port for the benefit of Bangladesh. As far as China is concerned, if there is a need, we are willing to participate,” he added. Replying to a question regarding terrorism and existence of ISIS in Bangladesh against the backdrop of killing of two foreigners in the country, the Chinese Ambassador said, “Before any kind of investigation, it won’t be fair to prejudge the result or the nature...So I resort to the police and RAB to find what it is all about...Whether it is a terrorist attack or whether ISIS exists in the country or not.” “We rely on that,” he said.
Mingqiang went on to say, “As a diplomat, I cannot prejudge. I cannot simply say to my people to stay out of Bangladesh. I know the weight of saying something here. I need to be very careful.” “I feel very safe here,” he added. Responding to a query on defence cooperation between Dhaka and Beijing, the Ambassador said that the collaboration between the two armed forces is one of the important pillars of the bilateral relations and that it is important for the overall understanding of the two countries. “So, the cooperation between the two armed forces has a huge contribution to our cooperation. This is to meet your need for national defence. Our equipments are good in quality and very competitive. We want to see your defence capacity build up gradually,” he said. When asked why Bangladesh is failing to attract large-scale Chinese investment, Mingqiang said, “First of all, there should be a need in both ways. If there is a need, investment would come. There is a need for better flow of information. “If people are equipped with knowledge of each other, I think there will be more investment. In previous years, many groups came to Bangladesh to look for opportunities. This year will be different,” he said. In response to a question regarding high-level visits from China to Bangladesh, the envoy said that the visit could not take place last year as suitable time could not be worked out. The visit will take place this year and both the countries are now trying to fix a suitable time for the high-level visits, he added.