Md. Ismail Zabiullah, Public Administration Adviser to the Prime Minister (Minister rank), has called for enhanced institutional collaboration with Chinese universities and research organizations in critical technology frontiers, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), smart manufacturing, and digital governance.
He also proposed setting up joint research centers, faculty exchange initiatives, dual-degree programs, and joint policy labs between the two nations.
He made these remarks Thursday (August 6), as the chief guest at the certificate distribution and valedictory ceremony of the ‘Joint Training Program 2026 on the Comparative Forum’, held at the BIISS Auditorium in Dhaka.
The four-day program was jointly organized by the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) and the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University, China.
Addressing the gathering, Md. Ismail Zabiullah stated that Bangladesh-China diplomatic ties, rooted in the era of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and later expanded under former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, have reached a landmark milestone into a ‘Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership’ following the recent visit of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to China.
He highlighted that annual bilateral trade between the two nations now exceeds USD 25 billion.
In her special address, Professor Zhang Ping praised BIISS’s hospitality and noted that the MoU signed during the opening session lays the groundwork for long-term institutional ties.
BIISS Director General Major General ASM Ridwanur Rahman remarked that the forum served as a vital platform for policy exchanges between Bangladeshi and Chinese experts.
Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen, along with faculties from Fudan University and BIISS, attended the event.
During the course, 37 participants completed modules covering governance modernization, poverty alleviation, digital governance, AI applications, the Global Development Initiative (GDI), and industrialization.