Japan has said its Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru’s bilateral talks with Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus scheduled for May 30 in Tokyo would render a ‘precious opportunity’ for Japan to indicate its further support to the transition efforts of the Chief Adviser and his interim government.

“It's a great honour to be able to receive the Chief Adviser to Japan, particularly at the time (when) he reportedly faces difficulties in domestic context,” Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Saida Shinichi said during an interview with a small group of reporters, including the UNB correspondent, at his residence in Dhaka. 

He said the visit also provides a ‘significant occasion’ for both countries to reassure their ‘strategic partnership’ and their commitments to Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP), as well as the rule of law.

The Chief Adviser will pay an ‘official working visit’ to Japan from May 28 to 31 and Tokyo thinks the visit to Japan is expected to ‘further strengthen’ the friendly relations between the two countries.

The Chief Adviser will also attend the Nikkei Forum 30th ‘Future of Asia’.

This will be Prof Yunus’ first visit to Japan as the Chief Adviser, said the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Prof Yunus visited Japan multiple times, including the visit to attend the 2004 Nikkei Asia Prize award ceremony and the participation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Opinion Leader Invitation Program in 2007.

Responding to a question on the investment front, the Ambassador said the Japanese investors are always thinking about new investment irrespective of political events here.

“We have been your faithful development partner and business partner. And I'm using the word - business as usual or the continuity – to describe the attitude of Japanese companies here,” said Ambassador Saida, adding that no one of them seem to be hesitant to come up with new ideas.

Referring to the journey since Bangladesh’s independence, the envoy said Japan has been and will be Bangladesh’s ‘faithful development partner’.

He said Japan stays as it is, and they have no comments on Bangladesh’s domestic reforms.

Bangladesh has sought $1 billion from Japan as budgetary support in the form of ‘soft loan’ and the announcement will come formally after the bilateral talks between the two leaders and an exchange of notes will be signed.

Asked about the announcement, Ambassador Saida said, “All I can tell you is we are eagerly working on it. In our rules, before the Cabinet decision, we don't tell anybody the contents.”

He said they are really expecting that the agreement on the new issues in the pipeline will be reached as soon as possible, and will come up with the official announcement to be celebrated by both sides.

The Japanese government has selected Bangladesh as one of the first beneficiary countries of a new cooperation framework, “Official Security Assistance (OSA)”. Five patrol boats will be provided to the Bangladesh Navy under this framework.

In addition, in view of Bangladesh’s graduation from the LDC status in 2026, both governments are vigorously pursuing negotiations to conclude an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).

The Ambassador said FTA is only free trade and EPA comprises other areas, like investment, business environment, or even some other cooperation.

On the business side, he said they were told two seminars will be held - one on investment by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), where hundreds of businessmen of both countries will discuss the economic future.

The other seminar will be on skilled laborers or workers hosted by the Bangladesh side with Japanese public private engagement, the envoy said, adding that on both occasions, some MoUs are to be signed.

On the Rohingya issue, the Ambassador said Japan's position is widely known to strongly support, together with the international community, the Bangladesh government's humanitarian engagement. “And we are also supporting the host communities.”

“We are committed to supporting the Bangladesh government's efforts and the humanitarian efforts to save them and deal with this issue as a whole,” said Ambassador Saida.

He hoped that this serious problem – the biggest humanitarian crisis in Asia - will be solved as soon as possible. 

Strategic Bilateral Issues

Chief Adviser Prof Yunus and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will discuss ‘strategic bilateral’ issues to strengthen the relations on all fronts.

"The meeting will discuss various strategic bilateral issues between Bangladesh and Japan - trade and investment, cooperation in the areas of agriculture, infrastructure, human resources development," acting Foreign Secretary Md Ruhul Alam Siddique told reporters at a media briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.

Prior to the meeting, the Chief Adviser will be given a red carpet reception and a guard of honor, said the acting Foreign Secretary.

Prof Yunus will depart from Dhaka to Tokyo via Hong Kong on May 28 at 02:10am on a Cathay Pacific flight to participate in the 30th Nikkei Forum Future of Asia. He will reach Narita International Airport at 2.30pm (Tokyo time) on May 28.

“The main focus of this visit is budgetary support," Siddique said while responding to a question, adding that all ‘strategic bilateral’ issues will be discussed.

He said a total of seven MoUs are likely to be signed during the official visit of the Chief Adviser.

President of Japan Bangladesh Parliamentary Friendship League Taro Aso will pay a courtesy call on the Chief Advisor on May 28.

He will attend a dinner hosted in his honor by the President of Nippon Foundation Yohei Sasakawa, where Japanese political and business leaders will be present.

After the dinner, the Chief Advisor will hold an interactive meeting with Japanese dignitaries.

On May 29, Prof Yunus will be called on by high-ranking officials of Nikkei before the opening of the Nikkei Forum.

In the inaugural plenary session of the 30th Nikkei Forum Future of Asia, the Chief Adviser will deliver a keynote speech calling on Asia and the entire world to work together and build a better future on the theme ‘Asia’s Challenge in a Turbulent World’.

JICA President Dr Tanaka Akihiko will pay a courtesy call on the Chief Adviser.

During the meeting, JICA's cooperation in the future progress of Bangladesh and the progress of various projects currently being funded by JICA will be discussed.

In February this year, Japanese Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Ikuina Akiko invited Chief Adviser Prof Yunus to visit Japan for the Nikkei 30th Future of Asia event to be held on May 29-30 in Tokyo. Prof Yunus is also a recipient of the Nikkei Asia Prize in 2004.

Under the new plan for Free and Open Indo Pacific and Big-B initiatives, Japan wants to see the sustainable development of the region.

Japan said it would strengthen its engagement with Bangladesh under the Bay of Bengal Initiative (Big-B), as the country aims to support high-quality infrastructure development projects and encourage Japanese manufacturing and production companies to expand their industrial value chains 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, according to the Bangladesh Embassy in Tokyo.

Political, economic and sectoral cooperation issues along with trade and investment, people-to-people connectivity and cultural exchanges, Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (Rohingyas), security cooperation, and regional and global issues are likely to be discussed during the visit.

The two countries will further strengthen the bilateral relationship in a wide range of areas, including security, economy, economic cooperation, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges, under the ‘Japan-Bangladesh Strategic Partnership’.