2016年CRI Bangladesh PM expects Xi's visit to enhance bilateral ties（在线收听）

Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina says she believes Xi Jinping's trip to Dhaka is going to bring opportunities for growth to the south Asian country.

"After 30 years, Chinese President is visiting Bangladesh. It has been a critical historical moment to our people who have been waiting for and welcome the (Chinese) President, and also it will open a new door for the cooperation between our two country, it will enhance our friendship and cooperation, which is very important. And also Bangladesh is opening its doors for foreign investment, so definitely we welcome Chinese investors in Bangladesh."

As part of her sit-down with Chinese media, Sheikh Hasina also recalled her previous visits to China.

She first visited China in 1996, but has since been back on a number of different occasions.

Discussing the Chinese President's trip, Hasina notes Bangladesh will not be a new experience for Xi Jinping, as he travelled to the country when he was China's vice-President in 2010.

She says she'll be looking to extract agreements from Xi Jinping this time in areas such as infrastructure development, energy and agriculture.

"We have decided to establish 100 special economic zone and we also already allocated land for Chinese investors in Chittagong we have rail communication, our road communication, agricultural sector, and other sectors, many other area China is cooperating with us. And especially infrastructure, we give more importance because our country has so many rivers and it's a very difficult job to collect and connect them. I hope that China will (invest more), President Xi's visit will also promote it."

The two countries have developed closer cooperation in infrastructure construction.

The Padma bridge program, as well as a new Chinese-backed railway project, were both unveiled this August.

Once completed, the two projects will link 21 districts in the south of Bangladesh to the capital, Dhaka, ending the reliance on the country's dangerously outdated ferry system.

The Bangladeshi Prime Minister will also be looking toward China to help lower poverty rates in her country.

"Like your president (Xi Jinping), he has a mission. Same as ours, we have a mission that we want to develop our country as a middle-income country in 2021. And also within 2041 we want to develop Bangladesh as a developed country. So, to develop we need more investment, so definitely we always invite Chinese investors to come. I think in South Asia Bangladesh is the best place for investment."

Bangladesh is in dire need of capital for development.

It is a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The AIIB has approved 165 million dollars in loans for a Bangladeshi project -- the first batch of loan for the country from the China-led development bank.