Japan expects Bangladesh PM’s visit to elevate ties to higher level

BSS :
Japan awaits Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s upcoming Tokyo visit with high eagerness expecting the event to elevate bilateral ties to a higher level amid current geopolitics, the country’s ambassador in Dhaka told BSS.
“This visit is highly expected from the viewpoint of the Japanese government (and) the expectation is high,” Japanese ambassador Iwama Kiminori said in his first exclusive interview to a Bangladeshi media outlet since he assumed his new assignment in Dhaka four months ago.
Talking to BSS diplomatic correspondent Tanzim Anwar, the envoy said Dhaka and Tokyo were on the verge of elevating bilateral ties to higher level with enhancing economic relations and increasing security cooperation amid ongoing geopolitical polarization.
“As the international situation has been evolving and the status of Bangladesh is developing towards a middle income country, and in the future a developed country, our (Japan’s) relationship with Dhaka is inevitably changing,” he said.
Kiminori said Tokyo expected to deepen and widen ties with Dhaka with Sheikh Hasina’s visit while his country also envisaged the ties to be based on “equal partnership” instead of a “donor-recipient” relationship in view of Bangladesh’s steady economic growth.
“Equal partner means the trade and investment should be center part of our relationship,” the envoy explained.
Sheikh Hasina will be on an official visit to Japan on 25-28 April at the invitation of her Japanese counterpart Kishida Fumio when they are scheduled to hold a summit alongside a working dinner to be hosted by Kiminori.
According to officials the two countries are expected to sign a number of memorandums of cooperation during the visit.
The Japanese ambassador said the talks between the two premiers were expected to uplift the bilateral relations unto next level through economic cooperation, trade and investment, progress on signing bilateral economic partnership agreement, new development initiatives, security cooperation, indo-pacific strategy, people-to people contact, Rohingya crisis and Russia-Ukrain conflicts.
The envoy said Fumio and Sheikh Hasina were likely to discuss the possibility of signing a bilateral economic partnership agreement or free trade deal.
“Two leaders are likely to welcome the fact that our discussion towards economic partnership agreement is on the right track and this is one of the symbolic structures that we are aiming at for the enhanced economic relationship,” Kiminori said.
Japan launched a joint study group in December last year to discuss on various issues towards possible bilateral economic partnership agreement between Bangladesh and Japan.