From April 25 to 28, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will travel to Japan at the invitation of her Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida. Prime Ministers of both countries will meet bilaterally during the visit, and both parties will probably sign many memorandums of understanding on cooperative efforts.
This will be the sixth visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Japan. Earlier, she visited Japan in 1997, 2010, 2014, 2016, and 2019. The foreign ministry of Bangladesh is making a detailed plan for the visit. The PM is scheduled to attend an investment summit and a community reception along with a few bilateral meetings. She will also hand over the "Friends of Liberation War Honour" to a few Japanese nationals.
The land of rising sun wants to elevate the bilateral ties with Bangladesh to a "strategic" level, adding more elements like defence and security areas to the growing relations. Both the governments of Bangladesh and Japan hope that this visit will further strengthen the friendly relations between the two countries.
The year 2023 commemorates the beginning of the 51st year of friendship and partnership between Japan and Bangladesh. Japan and Bangladesh have had diplomatic ties since 1972 when Japan recognized Bangladesh's independence and since then, interactions between the two countries have continued to be positive, leading to cooperation in a wide range of endeavours.
In 1973, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman conducted a successful visit to Japan to maintain this wonderful connection. This visit created a strong groundwork for bilateral relations between the two nations. Consequently, the Government of Bangladesh maintained positive relations with Japan throughout the terms of various governments. Every Bangladeshi leader who assumed office following the country's independence travelled to Japan multiple times.
The foundations of the current relationship are firmly anchored, even though economic cooperation and bilateral trade interests predominate in the modern stage of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Now Bangladesh is regarded by Japan as an "attractive" investment location and an economy that is "rapidly developing."
Since our independence in 1971, Japan has been the sole largest investor in Bangladesh. During these years of friendship, Bangladesh received significant assistance from Japan for about five decades. Bangladesh is also getting a lot of direct aid from the Japanese government in addition to different kinds of investments. Just as many different products are imported from Japan, so too has the export of goods from Bangladesh to Japan grown.
Currently, more than 315 Japanese companies are operating in Bangladesh, and the size has tripled over the last decade. As reported by JETRO, 71% of the firms are keen on expanding their operations in the following couple of years, as they consider Bangladesh a promising location for investment. Japan is the fifth-largest source country for Bangladesh's merchandise imports, which amount to more than $2bn. Whereas, Bangladesh has witnessed Japan to be a major consumer of Bangladeshi textiles and garments. For RMG products, Bangladesh's exports to Japan have nearly doubled in the last decade.
Also, Japan intends to sell Bangladesh military hardware. Bangladesh is aiming to clinch a free trade agreement (FTA) with Japan since it will graduate from the LDC category by 2026. In the most recent fiscal year, Bangladesh exported goods worth $1.35 billion to Japan, an increase of 14.40 percent from the year before.
Japan has started an initiative with massive possibilities to support Bangladesh in infrastructure development, regional cooperation, and becoming an economic miracle. Japan is helping Bangladesh build several mega-infrastructure projects including The MRT line in Dhaka, the deep seaport at Matarbari, the third terminal of the Dhaka airport, and the special economic zone at Araihazar are just a few of the large projects that Japan is putting into action in Bangladesh.
Over time, Japan has become one of Bangladesh's time-tested friends, major bilateral donors, and investors. However, in recent years, the two countries' business and investment partnerships and diplomatic alliances have increased significantly. So, it is the perfect time for both countries to capitalize on fresh chances to deepen existing relations.
Along with its geographic characteristics, Bangladesh should be able to overcome many issues to elevate the solid partnership with Japan for regional cooperation. Japan's contribution can play a significant role in assisting the government through the developmental project strategy, investment, policymaking, and supporting trade and business in the South Asian region. While Bangladesh and Japan both have suffered from natural disasters, these experiences can be shared for adaptation and mitigation.
Because Bangladesh and Japan are both significant allies in the Indo-Pacific region, the visit is seen as being extremely essential for both nations. In 2014, Bangladesh and Japan began a comprehensive relationship. Japan has since increased its investment in Bangladesh. Additionally, bilateral trade is growing day by day. There is a chance that the PM may bring up the connection to a strategic alliance during his visit.
The strong foundation of bilateral ties between Bangladesh and Japan is prepared to be elevated shortly from a "comprehensive partnership" to a "strategic partnership". IWAMA Kiminori, the Japanese ambassador to Bangladesh, stated that his nation and Bangladesh can tackle the Rohingya refugee problem, develop the blue economy, and fight against terrorism and other issues together. Bilateral strategic relations would eventually result from bilateral cooperation.
As a long-standing partner, Japan should make a smart move to settle the Rohingya crisis and lessen the burden on Bangladesh. Therefore, Japan can get support from Bangladesh for attaining its desirable permanent membership in the Security Council. It is hoped that Bangladesh and Japan would foster deeper economic partnerships in terms of development cooperation, trade and investment, human resources development, agriculture, education, defence dialogue and exchanges, and repatriation of Rohingyas through this official visit.
The writer is a columnist
