BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

A five member BIISS delegation headed by Major General Sheikh Md Monirul Islam, ndc, psc visited China from 14 April 2009 to 22 April 2009. The other members of the delegation were Colonel A K M Nazrul Islam, afwc, psc, G, Research Director of Defence Studies Division, Dr. Shaheen Afroze and Dr. Abul Kalam Azad, Research Director and Senior Research Fellow respectively of Peace and Conflict Studies Division and Major Md Abdul Kadir, Deputy Director Administration. The purpose of the visit was principally to have scholarly interaction with the similar academic institutions in China.

The delegations visit included Asia-Africa Development Research Institute, Development Research Center of the State Council (AADRI) and China Institute for International Strategic Studies (CIISS) at Beijing, Shanghai Institute of International Studies (SIIS) at Shanghai and Development Research Center of Yunnan Provincial Government (YDRC) at Kunming. Bilateral meetings were organized in all the institutes and a day long workshop was organized at CIISS. The Chinese counterparts were briefed about the aims, objectives, current setup and activities of BIISS. Two papers entitled “Bangladesh-China Relations in the Context of Present Security Situation in South Asia and “China-India Relations: Implications for Bangladesh were presented by Dr. Shaheen Afroze and Dr. Abul Kalam Azad respectively at CIISS workshop. Delegation members also exchanged views on contemporary issues including the areas of cooperation. During their stay in China the delegation also visited many places of historical and cultural interest.