Japan has expressed its interest to have an economic partnership agreement (EPA) with Bangladesh to offer preferencial treatment in businesses even after the graduation to a middle income one.
The visiting Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Nishimura Yasutoshi made the comment in a meeting with State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam at the state guest house Padma on Monday, the foreign ministry said.
He vowed to extend full cooperation to Bangladesh in her endeavor to become a high income country by 2041.
“Minister Nishimura informs that Japan is currently studying the preferential treatment that can be accorded to Bangladesh upon her graduation to a middle income country. An Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) in this regard would help,” he added.
State Minister Shahriar Alam thanked him for Japan’s continuous support towards the development and progress in Bangladesh.
He arrived in Dhaka on Sunday on a two-day official visit.
This is the first time ever a minister of the METI in Japan is visiting Bangladesh, the foreign ministry said.
Minister Nishimura referred to the ‘Strategic Partnership’ of diplomatic relations jointly declared by the two Prime Ministers during the Japan visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in April 2023.
He expressed his satisfaction on the mega projects carried out in association with Japan.
He praised Bangladesh’s youth and energetic population as well as the strategic location between the South and the South East Asia.
State Minister Shahriar Alam reiterated the commitment of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to make Bangladesh a high income country by 2041.
He briefed on the development achievements carried out by the government in the last one-and-a-half decades.
Shahriar Alam referred to the ongoing mega projects of Bangladesh-Japan collaboration and stressed on the need of such joint ventures to materialize Bangladesh’s vision of becoming a smart and developed country.
He invited more Japanese investment including that in the sectors of infrastructural development, ICT, human resources development and renewable energy.
