The 6th round of Bangladesh-Japan Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) was held on Thursday, 15 May 2025 in Tokyo. The Bangladesh side was led by Ambassador Dr. Md. Nazrul Islam, Secretary (East) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs while the Japanese side was led by Mr. AKAHORI Takeshi, Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan.
The Consultation was held in a very warm and friendly atmosphere where both sides had very productive, fruitful and wide-ranging discussion. The meeting touched upon political, economic and sectoral cooperation issues along with trade and investment, people-to-people connectivity and cultural exchanges, Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (The Rohingyas), security cooperation, and regional and global issues. Both sides reviewed the progress made since the 5th round of Consultations held in June 2024 in Dhaka and outlined future area of cooperation and Hon’ble Chief Adviser’s upcoming visit to Japan. During the meeting, both sides also discussed on human resource cooperation, joint crediting mechanism in energy transition, climate change, disaster and earthquake management and cooperation in Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP), Treatment Storage and Disposal Facility (TSDF) and solar power plants along with mechanization of agriculture and modernization of shipyards.
During the meeting, the Japanese side reiterated its firm support to the interim government and its reform initiatives, and said that it would continue its support for the socio-economic advancement of Bangladesh.
Both sides agreed to deepen political trust, prioritize development strategies and fully realize ‘Strategic Partnership’. Japan took positive note on Bangladesh’s request to continue Duty-Free Quota-Free (DFQF) access for Bangladeshi products during the post-LDC graduation period and would work for the market access of Bangladeshi products including fruits and vegetables. Both sides expressed satisfaction on the progress of EPA (Economic Partnership Agreement) negotiations and hoped that it will be concluded by this year. Under the Bay of Bengal Initiatives (Big-B), the Japanese side said that Japan would engage with Bangladesh more robustly for ensuring the high-quality infrastructure development projects and would also encourage Japanese manufacturing plants and production houses to extend their production and industrial value chain to Bangladesh. Under the new plan for Free and Open Indo Pacific and Big-B initiatives, Japan wants to see the sustainable development of the region.
Bangladesh also sought Japan’s support for more ODA loan, extension of loan repayment period and for budgetary support. Appreciating Bangladesh’s role in giving shelter to the Rohingyas, the Japanese side said that Japan would continue their efforts for the early repatriation of the Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (The Rohingyas) to their motherland in Myanmar and would continue its humanitarian assistance to the Rohingyas.
The both sides also discussed key regional and global developments and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen cooperation on various multilateral issues of mutual interests. The Foreign Office Consultations ended with a vision to fully use and integrate the resources, strategic locations and competencies to ensure development of the peoples of both country. The Secretary (East) thanked the Japanese Senior Vice-Minister for extending warm welcome and gracious hospitality.