Bangladesh welcomes Chinese agricultural companies to invest here: minister

DHAKA, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh welcomed more Chinese agricultural processing enterprises and agricultural machinery enterprises to invest in Bangladesh to help the country upgrade its agricultural industry and achieve high-quality development, Bangladeshi Agricultural Minister Md Abdus Shahid said.

When having a meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen on Monday, Shahid highly appreciated the important role played by China in Bangladesh's development, saying that China is the best friend and development partner of Bangladesh. He thanked the Chinese side for promoting the export of mango to China.

For his part, Yao said that China will take practical measures to promote the export of fresh mango from Bangladesh to China, help Bangladesh prevent and control potato related disease.

China would like to invite more Bangladeshi agricultural technicians to China for training, seize new opportunities to deepen bilateral cooperation in agriculture and help Bangladesh achieve stable economic and social development, Yao added.

"We have been importing a lot of (agricultural) machinery from China and we plan to increase that volume," he said after the meeting, reported the Financial Express.

When asked about the specific type of agricultural machinery imports to be increased, Shahid noted that agricultural machinery such as harvesters and tillers, which are necessary for enhancing agricultural productivity, would be included in the increased imports.