High-profile corporate team to visit BD with Japanese PM

A high-profile business delegation, comprising heads of various reputed Japanese multi-national companies (MNCs), is set to arrive in Bangladesh with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his visit on September 6-7.
Local business leaders are considering coming of the 22-member Japanese business team as their PM's entourage an indication of potential surge in trade and investment from the economic super power.
Official sources said about 22 chief executive officers (CEOs) of Japanese MNCs, like -Mitsubishi, Marubeni and Itochu, will accompany the Japanese PM. They will sit with both the government officials and business leaders to talk about investment in Bangladesh.
Hiroyuki Ishige, chairman and CEO of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), will also be in the delegation. He will lead Japan-Bangladesh Business Forum meeting on September 6. The Japanese Prime Minister is likely to attend its closing ceremony, they added.
JETRO, in association with the Board of Investment (BoI) and the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), will host the programme.
In the meeting discussions will be held on trade and business opportunities between Japan and Bangladesh, created since signing of a joint statement between the prime ministers of two countries in May.
Local business leaders said arrival of the high-profile Japanese delegation is a good sign. It is happening following groundwork done in the country after the two premiers signed the joint statement in Japan, they added.
"It is an indication that Bangladesh is a very important country for Japanese investors. They will find golden opportunity to invest here as the China-Plus country," said an official, involved with the preparatory meetings to host the Japanese delegation.  
He said Japanese giant companies, like - Mitshubishi, operate a number of industries there. Their visit to Bangladesh as the Japanese PM's entourage is significant for the country's economic development.
When asked, FBCCI President Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed said the Business Forum will focus on the investment environment, created after signing the joint statement between the two countries, and Bangladesh's readiness to invite foreign investors.
"A concrete proposal is likely to come up during the meeting, as Bangladesh has already offered land to the Japanese investors. Japan is also ready to work for infrastructure development here and remove investment barriers," he told the FE.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to arrive in Bangladesh on September 6 on a two-day visit to strengthen bilateral and economic cooperation between the countries.   This will be the second Prime Minister-level visit from Japan to Bangladesh since 2000, a foreign ministry official said, attaching high importance to the tour. The government has geared up groundwork for the visit, he added.
Officials are also considering the visit significant in the 40-year-old diplomatic relationship between the two countries. It is going to take place within three months of the Bangladesh Prime Minister's visit to Japan.