Ambassador of Japan to Bangladesh Saida Shinichi has expressed optimism about signing economic partnership agreement (EPA) with Bangladesh soon.
The envoy expressed the hope during a bilateral meeting with President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) Taskeen Ahmed at DCCI Gulshan Centre in the capital on Tuesday.
The DCCI President said Bangladesh had a longstanding partnership with Japan and their contribution to Bangladesh's economic progress, particularly in infrastructure development, bilateral trade, and investment, was indisputable.
The DCCI President also mentioned that Japanese entrepreneurs already invested US $507.14 million in different sectors like fertilizer, construction, textiles, power, gas, and petroleum, though Japan's total global foreign investment was US$ 184.02 billion.
He urged Japanese investors to enjoy various facilities Bangladesh was offering to the foreign investors.
He further stressed Japanese technical and technological cooperation in the areas such as automobiles, machinery, electrical equipment, agro-processing, agricultural logistics, jute and footwear, ICT, infrastructure development, logistics management, and skilled manpower development.
He called upon Japan to support Bangladesh's growing SME sector so that it could utilise its full potential and expand export markets for its products.
Bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Japan reached US$ 3.12 billion in FY2023-24, with imports and exports amounting to USD 1.81 billion and USD 1.31 billion respectively. Japan is the 12th largest export destination and 9th largest import source and 11th largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) for Bangladesh, according to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
Saida Shinichi said that Bangladesh had enormous potential for business, trade, and investment. However, to harness these potentials, diversification of the overall industrial structure as well as efficiency and accountability in public service were also crucial, the envoy added.
The envoy noted that Bangladesh's domestic market was steadily expanding, and considering the existing investment facilities, Japanese entrepreneurs were likely to increase their investments here.
Saida Shinichi mentioned that there was an ample opportunity for Bangladesh's skilled IT professionals to collaborate with and contribute to Japan's advanced technology sector, fostering mutual benefits for both countries.
The Ambassador also informed that the 7th meeting of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the two countries was recently held in Tokyo and both parties expressed that the agreement would be signed soon.
The partnership would open up a new window of economic opportunities for both countries.
DCCI Senior Vice President Razeev H Chowdhury and Vice President Md. Salem Sulaiman were also present during the meeting.
talhabinhabib@yahoo.com
