BD goods to enter Japan duty-free, quota-free
Diplomatic Correspondent :
The 6th round of Bangladesh-Japan Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) was held in Tokyo on Thursday, marking a significant step forward in deepening bilateral relations and strategic cooperation between the two countries.
The Bangladesh delegation was led by Ambassador Dr. Md. Nazrul Islam, Secretary (East) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the Japanese side was led by AKAHORI Takeshi, Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan.
The consultations were held in a warm and cordial atmosphere, reflecting the longstanding friendship and mutual respect shared by the two nations.
During the wide-ranging and productive discussions, both sides reviewed progress since the 5th round of consultations held in Dhaka in June 2024, and set the agenda for future cooperation across political, economic, and sectoral domains.
Key topics included trade and investment, cultural exchanges, people-to-people connectivity, security collaboration, and regional and global issues of mutual interest.
Both parties agreed to work closely towards fully realising the Bangladesh-Japan Strategic Partnership, with special focus on high-quality infrastructure development under the Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt (Big-B) initiative.
Japan also took a positive note of Bangladesh’s request to maintain Duty-Free Quota-Free (DFQF) market access in the post-LDC graduation period and committed to facilitating the entry of Bangladesh goods, including agricultural products, into Japanese market.
A central highlight of the meeting was Japan’s strong reaffirmation of its support for Bangladesh’s interim government and its ongoing reform initiatives.
The Japanese side expressed confidence in Bangladesh’s development trajectory and pledged to continue assisting the country’s socio-economic progress.
During the meeting, both sides also discussed human resource cooperation, joint crediting mechanism in energy transition, climate change, disaster and earthquake management and cooperation in Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP), Treatment Storage and Disposal Facility (TSDF) and solar power plants along with mechanization of agriculture and modernization of shipyards.
Bangladesh, in turn, sought increased Official Development Assistance (ODA), extension of loan repayment periods, and budgetary support from Japan.
Discussions also covered future cooperation in human resource development, climate change mitigation, disaster management, agriculture mechanization, and shipyard modernisation.
On the humanitarian front, Japan reiterated its continued commitment to supporting the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and stressed the importance of early, voluntary, and dignified repatriation to Myanmar.
Appreciating Bangladesh’s role in giving shelter to the Rohingyas, the Japanese side said that Japan would continue their efforts for the early repatriation of the Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (The Rohingyas) to their motherland in Myanmar and would continue its humanitarian assistance to the Rohingyas.
The Foreign Office Consultations meeting concluded with both nations reaffirming their commitment to working together on multilateral platforms and utilising their strategic strengths for the shared development and prosperity of their peoples.
Secretary (East) Dr. Md. Nazrul Islam extended his appreciation to the Japanese government for their warm hospitality and the constructive spirit of the dialogue, underscoring the depth of the partnership between Dhaka and Tokyo.