Tokyo seeks Dhaka's cooperation on Ukraine, N Korea, Indo-pacific issues

Japan has sought Bangladesh's understanding and cooperation over the situation and issues related to Ukraine, North Korea and the Indo-Pacific as Dhaka is vocal in establishing a "culture of peace" worldwide.   

 

The urge was made when Bangladesh foreign minister Dr AK Abdul Momen held a bilateral meeting with his Japanese counterpart Hayashi Yoshimasa at the Japanese foreign ministry in Tokyo Monday, according to a message received.  

 

During the hour-long meeting, Dr Momen said Bangladesh is a peace-loving country and it is against any kind of war as conflict creates collateral damage to life and property.  He said Bangladesh supported action for humanitarian access to Ukraine as it sheltered a huge number of displaced Rohingya people on humanitarian grounds.  

 

The meeting was held to mark the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Japan completed on February 10 this year. The two foreign ministers in their first official meeting after Hayashi took office in November last year, stated that they would work closely to take forward the excellent bilateral relations.  

Mentioning Japan as a household name in Bangladesh and the largest development partner, Dr Momen invited more Japanese investments to Bangladesh, particularly in emerging sectors like blue economy, automobiles, ICT, pharmaceuticals, light engineering and electronics.  

 

The Japanese foreign minister said that with the economic prosperity of Bangladesh more Japanese companies would be attracted to invest in Bangladesh and agreed to cooperate more in Blue Economy, ICT and Pharmaceuticals to advance the bilateral economic relations.  

 

In response to Bangladesh's foreign minister's request to provide more scholarships and skill development training to the young population, Hayashi stated that Japan would continue to provide more scholarships to Bangladeshi students for human resource development. 

 

Dr Momen sought more involvement from Japan in finding an early solution to the Rohingya crisis. In response, the Japanese foreign minister said that Tokyo would continue to assist Bangladesh over the Rohingya crisis as repatriation is very important to resolve the issue.  

 

The Foreign Ministers discussed climate change and sought Japan's support for the Regional Climate Adaptation Center in Bangladesh. The two Foreign Ministers also discussed future candidacy at various multilateral forums and reiterated to extend support to each other's candidatures.  

 

Bangladesh Ambassador in Tokyo Shahabuddin Ahmed also attended the meeting, among others. Dr. Momen is on transit in Tokyo for several hours and would leave for Palau this afternoon to participate in the Ocean Conference to be held on April 11-15.