Dear Muslim brothers and sisters in Bangladesh,
Assalamualikum!
As we have ushered in Ramadan, the holiest month of Islamic calendar, I would first love to extend my heartiest greetings to you all: Ramadan Mubarak!
I understand Ramadan carries enormous significance to Islamic life as Muslims around the world strive to purify their bodies, hearts and souls by fasting during the holiest month. Ramadan thus stands as a month of training for the believers of Islam on how to lead their lives in other months of the year with peace, compassion, and harmony. As a dear member of a proud nation of 56 ethnic groups with different faiths living in harmony, China's vast Muslim community, with a population of 30 million, too has started observing Ramadan.
Dear friends,
Ramadan has come to us this year in one of the toughest times for mankind in a century. Since the first report of the confirmed case of COVID-19 last December, more than 2.7 million cases and 187,847 deaths have globally been reported as of April 25. The whole world is grappling with the pandemic, with most countries including Bangladesh still in the early stages of the outbreaks, according to the World Health Organization.
A friend in need is a friend indeed. I would like to recall, with immense gratefulness, the timely and invaluable support, both material and spiritual, extended by the government and the people of Bangladesh to China when the epidemic first hit my beloved country. And for China's part, we started offering assistance to our friendly Bangladesh by sending the very first batch of 500 fast test kits as early as February 22, of which China was also in bad need at that time. Since then, China has forged ahead an overall cooperation and multilateral interaction with Bangladesh, from party to party, government to government, society to society and medical experts to experts. China has so far donated millions of medical equipment and materials including detection kits and tubes, ventilators, masks, thermometers, goggles, and personal protective equipment (PPE). Chinese companies and charity groups like Jack Ma Foundation & Alibaba Foundation have also contributed a huge number of medical equipments and materials to Bangladesh. Cargoes of tons of rice for Rohingya brothers and sisters arrived in Chattogram. Chinese companies undertaking mega projects persist in working here despite all difficulties and frustrations. The China-Bangladesh Friendship International Exhibition Centre in Dhaka fully funded by China will turn into a makeshift hospital for the COVID-19 patients. Moreover, a Chinese medical team of experts comprising doctors, nurses and technicians is on the way to Bangladesh to help combat the virus.
The close and effective cooperation between China and Bangladesh in the fight against the COVID-19 is but an epitome of the cordial ties between China and the Islamic world as a whole. The two ancient civilizations started engaging in friendly communication as early as the 7th century when Islam was first introduced in China. Ever since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the friendly tradition of cooperation has been preserved and expanded into all areas including global and regional security, sustainable development, peoples' welfare and environment protection. China has always been a time-tested and trusted friend of the Muslim world who supports Muslim countries' pursuit for independent paths of development. Today, at this crucial juncture, China is firmly standing by Bangladesh and other Muslim countries to combat the pandemic. Chinese medical equipment and expert teams have already been sent to Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Pakistan and other Muslim countries in Africa.
Dear brothers and sisters,
Viruses respect no borders and epidemics do not distinguish between races and religions. As President Xi Jinping has pointed out that this global public health emergency has driven home the urgency and imperative of building a community with a shared future for humanity. It's China's firm belief that only with solidarity and cooperation the international community can prevail over the epidemic and protect humanity's common home. Keeping this in mind, I assure you again that China will continue to stand and work closely with Bangladesh and the world to fight together against the pandemic for a better and shared future.
Joy Bangla Aro Ekbar!
