The Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Mr. IWAMA Kiminori paid a courtesy call on Foreign Secretary Ambassador Md. Jashim Uddin today at MOFA. Ambassador Kiminori congratulated the Foreign Secretary for assuming the new position and expressed his willingness to work closely with him to further strengthen the excellent bilateral relations of the two countries.
The Ambassador stressed on the three important pillars of the existing strategic partnership, namely, political & defense relation, economic relation and people to people relation between Bangladesh and Japan, which are important elements to ensure peace and stability in the region.
Referring to the relation between Bangladesh and Japan as a mature one, the two sides expressed satisfaction over the current progress of bilateral engagements. Both sides also underscored the importance to take the existing bilateral relation to a new height and hoped that the bilateral trade and investment, infrastructural development and defence cooperation, people to people contact, regional connectivity and diplomatic engagements will further be strengthened in the days ahead.
The Foreign Secretary thanked the Government of Japan for their sustained support over the years to Bangladesh’s socio-economic advancement. He also thanked Japan for being Bangladesh’s one of the largest bilateral development partners and acknowledged Japan’s contribution in major development initiatives being undertaken in Bangladesh. The Foreign Secretary sought more Japanese investments in Bangladesh, including setting up a Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facility (TSDF) for helping Bangladesh to develop its ship recycling industry in a safe and sustainable manner. It maybe mentioned that Bangladesh ratified Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, fulfilling the requirements for its entry into force in June 2025, demonstrating its willingness to adhere to international standards in the ship breaking industry. The Japanese Ambassador assured to do the needful in this regard as committed by Japan last year.
The Foreign Secretary thanked Japan’s continued efforts towards a durable solution for the safe and dignified return of the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals to the Rakhine State of Myanmar for peace, stability, and security in the region. He also appreciated Japan’s humanitarian assistance to forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals, including those relocated to Bhashan Char.