Japan time-tested friend: Dipu Moni
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni has said Japan as a time-tested and all-weather friend of Bangladesh has been contributing to the country's socio-economic development for the last four decades.
“We firmly believe that we'll consolidate a more comprehensive partnership with Japan,” she said at a reception marking the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Japan at Sonargaon Hotel on Saturday evening.
Dipu Moni said over the last forty years Japan has provided grants and loans in multifaceted programmes in Bangladesh.
She said the Japanese government continues to extend assistance in the forms of aid, technical cooperation and soft loans to a wide range of areas.
These include infrastructure, education, human resource development, health, water and sanitation, disaster management, agriculture and rural development, power and energy, environment protection and climate change.
The Meghna-Gumti bridge and Sonargaon Pan Pacific Hotel symbolise the mutual bond and fraternity.
Japan is the largest bilateral donor for Bangladesh. Between 1972 and 2011, Bangladesh received a total commitment of around US$ 10 billion as Japanese assistance.
In 2011, a total of US$ 670 million financial loan has been accorded to Bangladesh through the 32nd Yen loan package.
The two-way trade volume has reached US$ 1.52 billion in 2011. The export from Bangladesh to Japan has been recorded at US$ 434 million in 2010-2011, which is on increase after granting GSP facilities by Japan to Bangladesh products.
The foreign minister said enormous scope is there to increase the bilateral trade in many of the potential sectors of both the countries.
Japan, being a leading source of investment for Bangladesh, 208 Japanese companies have registered for investment of US$ 1.24 billion by December 2011 with employment opportunity for 45, 000 people.
Our diplomatic correspondent adds: at the reception, Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Shiro Sadoshima said he is eager to take bilateral relations to a higher level as Japan and Bangladesh jointly move towards a promising future.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments