Japan attaches priority on its relationship with Bangladesh in the areas of trade, commerce, investment and economy.
Japan has already formed a joint working group with concerned government officials and experts to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Bangladesh.
The existing investment in Bangladesh seems not lucrative to Japanese companies as the latter consider neighbouring countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia the better places to put their investment.
Japan Ambassador in Dhaka Iwama Kiminori expressed the views at the press meet on the outcome of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to Japan at the invitation of her counterpart Kishida Fumio during April 25-28.
Iwama Kiminori said that Bangladesh should improve its business environment, remove bureaucratic tangles and impart timely decisions to lure Japanese investment on a large scale.
According to the data of Bangladesh Bank (BB), Bangladesh attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) worth 3439.63 million US dollars in 2021-22 Fiscal year with Japanese FDI recorded at only 122.72 million. Japan held the ninth position in terms of attracting FDI in Bangladesh (3.6 per cent of total FDI)
Iwama Kiminori mentioned that Japanese entrepreneurs consider neighboring countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia the better lucrative places to put their money that shows the latter ensures a congenial environment.
With a view to enhancing economic exchange between the two countries, Prime Minister of Japan Kishida Fumio emphasized the necessity of continuous improvement of investment climate in Bangladesh and the two Prime Ministers welcomed good progress and resolution of some investment issues faced by Japanese companies through the Japan-Bangladesh Public Private Joint Economic Dialogue (PPED), said Iwama Kiminori.
He also mentioned that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during the business summit with Japanese investors and entrepreneurs in Tokyo assured them of addressing the outstanding investment related issues flagged by the Japanese investors and expressed her commitment to further improving investment climate to encourage more Foreign Direct Investment.
The two Prime Ministers welcomed the result of the 5th PPED in April and concurred to hold the 6th Dialogue in Tokyo at the earliest in 2023 to review the progress in investment climate and investment promotion on a regular basis.
As Bangladesh will come out of the least developed countries (LDCs) graduation by 2026 and is at risk of losing special trade privileges in Japan, he said that Bangladesh will start taking the necessary preparations in the right time to face the post-LDC graduation challenges.
Iwama Kiminori, however, said that his country will try to stand beside Bangladesh and has reiterated his country’s interest to sign deals like PTAs and FTAs with Bangladesh to boost the trade between the two countries.
Since Bangladesh is going to face many challenges centering the LDC graduation, a joint study group is ready to work to facilitate holding discussions and skilled negotiations with Japan to increase trade related facilities.
The Japanese Ambassador said that Japan attaches priority on relationships with Bangladesh in the areas of trade, commerce, investment and economy.
He said that Japan has already formed a joint working group with concerned government officials and experts to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Bangladesh.
To a question of the upcoming national parliament election to be held in January 2024, Iwama Kiminori said that the matter is an internal issue of Bangladesh and Japan does not like to meddle into the internal matter of a third country .
To a question of recruiting Bangladeshi workers in the Japanese labour market, Iwama Kiminori mentioned that two Prime Ministers acknowledged that Bangladesh’s abundant young labour forces will contribute to supplement Japan’s labor shortage.