Dhaka, Tokyo outline areas of cooperation ahead of CA’s visit

Bangladesh and Japan yesterday outlined future areas of cooperation between the two countries, ahead of Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus' upcoming visit to Japan, as both sides look to take the relationship to new heights.

Japan said it would strengthen its engagement with Bangladesh under the Bay of Bengal Initiative (Big-B), as the country aims to support high-quality infrastructure development projects and encourage Japanese manufacturing and production companies to expand their industrial value chains to Bangladesh, according to the Bangladesh Embassy in Tokyo.

The issues were discussed at the 6th Japan-Bangladesh Foreign Secretary-level consultations held in Tokyo.

In February this year, Japanese Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Ikuina Akiko invited Chief Adviser Prof Yunus to visit Japan for the Nikkei 30th Future of Asia event to be held on May 29-30 in Tokyo.

Yunus was also a recipient of the Nikkei Asia Prize in 2004.

The chief adviser will attend the Nikkei 30th Future of Asia event and both sides are working to arrange a bilateral meeting between Yunus and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, a diplomatic source told UNB.

The two sides confirmed that they will further strengthen the bilateral relationship in a wide range of areas, including security, economy, economic cooperation, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges, under the "Japan-Bangladesh Strategic Partnership" at the FOC, said the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.