1st LD-Writethru: Xi to visit Cambodia, Bangladesh, attend BRICS summit in India
Xinhua, October 10, 2016 Adjust font size:
Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Cambodia and Bangladesh, and attend the 8th BRICS summit in India from October 13 to 17, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang announced Monday.
Lu said Xi was invited by Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid, respectively, to pay state visits to the two countries.
He will then attend the BRICS summit to be held in Goa, India, at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lu said.
Xi's Cambodia visit will be his first tour to the Southeast Asian nation since he took office, and it will be significant in consolidating bilateral friendship, said Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Kong Xuanyou at a press briefing later on Monday.
The Chinese president will meet with King Norodom Sihamoni and visit his mother, former Queen Norodom Monineath, as well as hold talks with Prime Minister Hun Sen. Cooperative deals are expected to be signed during the visit.
Xi's visit to Bangladesh will be a "milestone," Kong said, noting that both sides would make deals and bilateral relations would be improved.
During the visit, Xi will meet with President Abdul Hamid, National Assembly Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury, and hold talks with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
As for the BRICS summit, Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong said that leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will exchange in-depth views on BRICS cooperation and other global and regional issues.
The BRICS leaders will also hold a dialogue meeting with leaders of some countries in the region and meet with business leaders.
China is a strong supporter and active participant of BRICS cooperation, Li said, stressing that China believes that the Goa summit will be a great success, and the bloc will contribute more to world peace and prosperity. Endi