IWAMA Kiminori, Japan's ambassador to Bangladesh, said that Japan is working as a strategic partner of Bangladesh in various development projects including construction of Dhaka Metrorail, Dhaka Airport terminal.
He said the Japanese government continues to negotiate for an Economic Partnership Agreement as part of strengthening economic ties while Japan is always identifying areas of cooperation to further strengthen the relationship between the two countries.
“As part of this, we are focusing on G2B communication”, the envoy added.
Kiminori was addressing a view exchange meeting with the business leaders of Chittagong at the World Trade Center on Wednesday afternoon. He said, due to its geographical location, Chittagong is the strategic hub of Bangladesh and South Asia. There are many famous Japanese companies in Chittagong who have been working for more than 30 years.
He assured of all-out cooperation in the expansion of foreign investment in Chittagong for product diversification and human resource development.
Chittagong Additional Divisional Commissioner (General) & Chamber Administrator Muhammad Anwar Pasha presided over the meeting. Chamber Former Senior Vice President Ershad Ullah, Vice President Syed Mohammad Tanveer, Turkey Honorary Consul General Salahuddin Kasem Khan, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Dhaka Country Representative Yuji Ando, Former Honorary Consul General of Japan Nurul Islam, Lub-Ref Managing Director Mohammad Yusuf, United Nations University in Japan ProfDr. Imam Uddin, former President of Japan-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry Abdul Haque and Chittagong Chamber Joint Secretary Nurul Abshar Chowdhury spoke on the occasion among others.
Chamber administrator Muhammad Anwar Pasha said that Bangladesh has a deep relationship with Japan as an economic partner.
The major mega projects of the country have economic and technical support from Japan. Japan also has comprehensive cooperation in the country's education, health, energy and logistics sectors, he added.
He expressed hope that such help and assistance will continue in the future. He urged Japanese investors to invest in the economic zones by utilizing the geographical advantage of Chittagong.
Yuji Ando, Country representative of JETRO in Dhaka, said that there are many Japanese businessmen in Chittagong.
As there are no direct flights from Chittagong, communication with Japan has become a hindrance.
He sought the cooperation of the Chittagong Chamber to start Chittagong-Bangkok direct flights for easy communication for Japanese investors and businessmen.
