Chinese President Xi leaves Dhaka

President Xi Jinping has left Dhaka after a two-day state visit, the first by a Chinese leader in three decades.

The Air China special flight carrying him took off from the Shahjalal International Airport around 10am on Saturday. He headed for the Indian state of Goa to attend the BRICS outreach summit.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina saw him off at the Dhaka airport. Finance Minister AMA Muhith,

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, Public Administration Minister Syed Ashraful Islam, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam, Principal Secretary to PM Abul Kalam Azad, Cabinet Secretary Md Shafiul Alam were also present.

Earlier on Saturday, the Chinese leader paid homage at the National Memorial to the fallen heroes of Bangladesh's war of independence.

Xi led his entourage to the memorial around 9am.

Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque received him there. He signed the visitor’s book and planted a sampling.

His motorcade left for the airport from Savar.

Xi arrived in Dhaka to a red-carpet welcome on Friday morning, when President Md Abdul Hamid received him at the airport.

He and Hasina announced that the Dhaka-Beijing ties have now been elevated to the level of a “strategic partnership."

China President Xi Jinping inspects the guard of honour at Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Friday.

Bangladesh has formally joined up China’s “One Belt One Road" Initiative which was said to be the focus of his visit.

They witnessed the signing of 27 deals and unveiled plaques of six projects. The prime minister said those have created a platform for “our two countries to cooperate on a higher plane”.

Xi said the “relationship is now at a new historical starting point and heading toward a promising future”.

He said China would “continue to do its best” to provide capital, technological and human resources support and ensure “more cooperation” on big projects with Bangladesh to support its economic and social development.