Harnessing full potential of Dhaka-Tokyo friendship

Bangladesh and Japan are time-tested friends. The bilateral relations of amity is rooted in history.  This stems from the two countries' inherent belief in friendship, mutual support, and peaceful coexistence. The foundation of this relationship was laid during the 1971 liberation war when the government and people of Japan gave unstinted support to the cause of Bangladesh.  Even the schoolchildren of Japan saved, collected and contributed their pocket money to help Bangladesh. Bangladeshis still remember this gesture with deep gratitude.

Soon after the opening of the Embassy in 1972, the Japanese government sent Takashi Hayakawa to Bangladesh to assess the needs of the new nation. Japan came forward with aid, trade and investment in Bangladesh. The relations between the two countries improved further in unusual circumstances. A hijacked Japanese airliner landed in Dhaka in October 1977, creating a crisis in Japan. The Japanese hostages were released through the skilful handling of Bangladesh government leaders, which impressed the government of Japan.

Viewed against this backdrop, the four-day official visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Japan has further beefed up the traditional ties. The visit has yielded hugely positive results for Bangladesh. Japan has pledged an assistance of six billion US dollars to Bangladesh in the next five years. The promised aid will be used for implementation of the concept of the Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt (BIG-B), proposed by the Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe. The Belt, as he said, will help Bangladesh realise its huge economic potential and expedite its growth. The two prime ministers innovated the idea of a comprehensive partnership between Bangladesh and Japan. As a result of the PM's visit, Dhaka and Tokyo will start a joint Bangladesh-Japan Public-Private Economic Dialogue to promote trade and expand private investment. Another important achievement is a foreign secretary-level dialogue in enhancing cooperation in politics and security.

It has been a very wise decision for Bangladesh to seek precious Japanese lessons from nuclear power plants as Russia is now all set to install one at Rooppur in Pabna district. Japan and Bangladesh will start an expert-level dialogue on the peaceful utilisation of nuclear power in Bangladesh. The experts will share the experience and lessons of the accident of Fukushima Daiichi power plant in Japan. Such exchange of views will greatly benefit Bangladeshi scientists to assess risks our environmentalists and common citizens are worried about.

Bangladesh is indeed grateful to Japan for the latter's continued economic assistance. Even when Japan was reeling from one of its worst natural disasters in March 2011, it continued the flow of development assistance to Bangladesh.  The project-based Japanese assistance will surely help Bangladesh implement various fast-track projects aimed at faster development of the economy. Speedy disbursement of Japanese aid will certainly contribute to execution of development projects. It is to be noted that Japan's assistance has underscored the development of economic infrastructures like roads, bridges, power transmission etc. It is suggested that the focus of the Japanese help should be more on human resources development so that Bangladeshis will be able to do things on their own in the long run. Needed badly now is a joint mechanism to oversee productive use of Japanese funds in Bangladesh so that such assistance could effectively contribute to the cause of development.