Japanese premier leaves Dhaka

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe left Dhaka for Colombo on Sunday morning, ending his 22-hour whirlwind tour of Bangladesh. Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali saw him off at Hazrat Shahjalal (RA) International Airport around 10:40am. Shinjo and his wife Akie Abe left for the Sri Lankan capital by a special flight. This was the first visit by a Japanese premier to Bangladesh in 14 years. Abe termed it a ‘special year’ for Dhaka-Tokyo ties as he said the two friendly countries have entered ‘a new level of cooperation’. Abe promised to promote trade and investment in Bangladesh. His 150-member delegation included 22 CEOs of top Japanese companies. He also reiterated his earlier promise to provide about $ 6 billion official assistance to Bangladesh in the next 4 to 5 years for infrastructure development. Both Abe and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina signed a 10-page joint statement that touched upon a whole area of future cooperation between the two ‘tested friends’, according to bdnews24.com.