Dhaka, Tokyo forge new partnership

Japan and Bangladesh have embarked on a new era of relationships for ‘global peace and stability’. The new ‘comprehensive partnership’ was launched during a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her counterpart Shinzo Abe in Tokyo. The two prime ministers launched the 'Japan-Bangladesh comprehensive partnership', which had been discussed during the Japanese foreign minister's Dhaka visit in March, the statement issued after the talks said. They decided to detail the modalities ‘at the earliest’. Japan, which recognised Bangladesh soon after independence, is the country’s biggest bilateral development partner. So far, it has provided $ 11 billion as assistance, mostly by way of grants. During Monday’s meeting, Abe pledged to provide nearly $ 6 billion in additional assistance for the next four to five years starting this year. Both the heads of government affirmed their commitment to further strengthen bilateral cooperation ‘by elevating the friendly relationship to a new partnership’. They looked forward to working closely to attain global peace and stability. They agreed that they would strengthen policy dialogue so as to deepen cooperation in an evolving global security environment. The two countries also endorsed the launch of the bilateral Foreign-Secretary-level dialogue and hoped to deepen bilateral policy dialogue and cooperation. Hasina welcomed Japan’s increasing efforts to contribute actively to securing regional and global peace, stability and prosperity, according to bdnews24.com.