Japan will provide $1.063 billion to Bangladesh as budget support, railway upgradation funds, and scholarship grants as it reiterated full support to the interim government for reforms initiatives and endeavour towards a peaceful transition in Bangladesh.
Japan and Bangladesh signed notes of exchange towards this as Bangladesh Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus and Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru held a bilateral meeting in Tokyo today, according to a statement of the press wing of the Chief Adviser's Office.
A joint press statement was issued after the meeting on the third day of Chief Adviser's visit to Japan where he attended the 30th Nikkei Asia Forum yesterday.
Of the total, Japan will provide $418 million as Development Policy Loan for Bangladesh's economic reforms and climate resilience.
Tokyo will also lend $641 million for upgradation of Joydevpur-Ishwardi into a dual-gauge double railway track and another $4.2 million as grants for scholarships.
Both sides also welcomed the signing of memorandums of understanding and memorandum of cooperation.
Those include on capacity building of One Stop Service (OSS) system in Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), installation of pre-paid gas meter, setting up factory for battery-run cycles, launching a pilot project for information security, and land agreements with the Bangladesh Special Economic Zone (BSEZ), to promote Japanese investment in Bangladesh.
Prof Yunus and Ishiba Shigeru underscored the importance of concluding the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) in mutually beneficial way and instructed their respective ministries and negotiating teams to accelerate negotiations to reach an agreement at the earliest possible time.
The EPA, which can help promote investments and trade between the two countries and paves gateway to duty-free and quota-free access of Bangladeshi products to Japan after the LDC graduation.
Currently, the bilateral trade is about $4 billion dollars, while Japan provided loans and grants over $24 billion to Bangladesh since the independence, supporting scores of important development infrastructures including the metro rail, HSIA third terminal, the economic zone in Araihazar etc.
Japan and Bangladesh also reiterated their commitment to further strengthening political and security cooperation, including early delivery of five patrol boats to Bangladesh Navy under Japan's Official Security Assistance (OSA).
The two sides agreed in principle on the Agreement Concerning the Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology, and expressed their hope for early conclusion of the agreement.
Both sides discussed ways to promote people-to-people exchanges, including skilled human resources, and concurred in strengthening cultural ties between the two countries.
On Thursday, two countries signed MoUs on training and recruiting Bangladeshi skilled workers. Authorities and businesses estimated Japan can hire at least 100,000 Bangladeshi skilled workers in next five years as the East Asian country faces labour shortage.
In this regard, Professor Yunus thanked PM Ishiba for Japan's continued support for human resource development in Bangladesh, including the Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship.
Japanese leader Ishiba Shigeru and Chief Adviser Prof Yunus reaffirmed their commitments to the Strategic Partnership and reiterated the shared vision for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) to ensure peace, stability and shared prosperity for all.
They discussed international and regional matters and reaffirmed their commitment to enhance cooperation for ensuring peace and stability in the region and beyond, upholding the principles of the United Nations Charter, support for multilateralism based on the rule of law, as well as to democracy.
Prof Yunus expressed gratitude to Japan for its continued support to foster sustainable economic growth and development in Bangladesh, especially for the projects under the Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt (BIG-B) Initiative, including Moheshkhali-Matarbari Integrated Infrastructure Development Initiative (MIDI).
PM Ishiba commended Bangladesh for temporarily sheltering the forcibly displaced people of Myanmar from Rakhine state and extending continued humanitarian assistance to them.
Professor Yunus appreciated Japan's humanitarian assistance for them. Japan reaffirmed its sustained efforts on this issue.
Both sides shared the view that a sustainable, safe, voluntary, and dignified repatriation of the displaced persons to Myanmar is the ultimate solution to this crisis for peace and stability across the region.
They also recognised the importance of sincere dialogue among all relevant stakeholders to resolve the crisis.
Prof Yunus thanked Japan for the hospitality and invited Prime Minister Ishiba to visit Bangladesh at a mutually convenient time.