DHAKA, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- A China-funded south-south cooperation project aimed at bringing down maternal mortality in Bangladesh was officially launched in the capital Dhaka on Monday.

The project is run by the intergovernmental initiative Partners in Population and Development (PPD) in collaboration with Directorate General of Family Planning, an agency under Bangladesh's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The project of "Providing Safe, Comprehensive and Appropriate Intervention to Prevent Postpartum Hemorrhage for Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Bangladesh" was funded by the Chinese government through China's South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund.

China is currently chairing the PPD, an intergovernmental organization comprising 27 developing countries, which is committed to boosting the south-south cooperation.

Attending the launching ceremony were Bangladesh's Health Minister Zahid Maleque and other government officials, and experts, as well as representatives of diplomatic missions including from China, Morocco, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka, and United Nations agencies, among others.

The Bangladeshi health minister in his speech pledged support for the implementation of the project, which will begin in Gazipur district that is located on the outskirts of Dhaka.

The PPD said the project is expected to make significant contribution to reducing the maternal mortality in Bangladesh, and to serve as a model for other developing countries.

Liu Zhenhua, the economic and commercial counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh, said at the ceremony that the Chinese government hopes the project will help improve the well-being of the Bangladeshi people.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Bangladesh, Liu said, adding that public health has been one of the sectors featuring close bilateral cooperation over the years, and the two countries should continue to work together to build a global community of health for mankind.