Japan has promised to keep funding relief and rehabilitation initiatives for Bangladesh’s impoverished and impacted communities.
Speakers at a views-exchange meeting, jointly hosted by the NGO Affairs Bureau and the Dwip Unnayan Sangstha recently, expressed hope that Japan's support would not waver in the face of crisis and natural disasters.
Representatives from the Embassy of Japan in Bangladesh, development cooperation organisations, and NGO’s that receive grants from Japan were among the 45 attendees of the Thursday meeting.
Executive Manager of the Japan Agency for Development and Emergency (JADE) Hiroto Tanaka emphasised the significance of attending to mental health as well as physical needs in rehabilitation initiatives. He pointed out that recovery efforts might not be sustainable in the absence of social protection.
Participants expressed their appreciation for the assistance given by NGOs and the Japanese government during the devastating cyclone of the 1970s and the recent floods in Noakhali.
Bangladesh has been the biggest beneficiary of Japan's development cooperation programmes for more than 50 years, according to Md. Saidur Rahman, Deputy Director of the NGO Affairs Bureau.
Additionally, he hopes that the two nations will continue to have a close relationship in the future.
Director of the Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Centre (BDPC), Muhammad Saidur Rahman, thought back on his long-standing partnership with Japan, which started following the 1970 cyclone.
"I hope this partnership continues to flourish," he said.
The Executive Director of the Dwip Unnayan Sangstha, Valiant Freedom Fighter Mohammad Rafiqul Alam, presided over the meeting. He expressed gratitude to Japan for its important contributions to Bangladesh's infrastructure, health, education, and human resource development.
Officials from the Embassy of Japan in Bangladesh, including Shinjo Karasawa and Daichi Yasaki, as well as representatives from the NGO Bureau, Bipul Chandra Das, Mohammad Munir Hossain, Maidul Islam, and Md Anwar Hossain, were also present.
