The 'Project for Capacity Building of BEZA on EZ Management and Investment Promotion' was launched Tuesday at a function at Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) conference room in the city.
Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki attended the function as the chief guest while Additional Secretary of the Economic Relations Division (ERD) Muhammad Ashraf Ali Faruk, Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Yuho Hayakawa and Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) Country Representative Yuji Ando spoke on the occasion.
Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) Executive Chairman Shaikh Yusuf Harun presided over the meeting.
In his speech, Naoki Ito said the aristocracy and beauty of the bilateral relations between Japan and Bangladesh are increasing day by day and this project has achieved another milestone.
The people and government of Japan are proud to be part of the Bangladesh's prosperity, he added.
He further said that by overcoming the effects of the Covid-19 epidemic and increasing the quality of services to investors, Bangladesh is moving positively towards 7.5 percent GDP growth.
Welcoming the activities of JICA and BEZA, Yuho Hayakawa said that this would give a new dimension to the exchange of skills between the two countries and facilitate investment by developing quality management in the economic zone.
Yuji Ando said 68 percent Japanese companies are interested in expanding their business in Bangladesh.
He informed that the export ratio of Japanese companies operating in Bangladesh is atop among the Asia and Oceania countries as the ratio of exports to total sales by Japanese companies has stood at 65.4 per cent.
He said as a result of this project, service delivery capacity in Bangladesh will be increased and the quality of modern and digital services will be multiplied.
With the mutual cooperation and support of BEZA and JICA, Shaikh Yusuf Harun said all the goals and outcomes of this project will be achieved.
General Manager of BEZA and Project Director of the project Mohammad Hasan Arif delivered a power point presentation on the occasion.
With the technical assistance of JICA, the 'Project for Capacity Building of BEZA on EZ Management and Investment Promotion' was adopted in 2021.
The project aims to improve the investment climate in Economic Zones (EZs) by establishing a self-sustaining operational structure for the One-Stop Service Centre (OSSC).
Under the project, BEZA will establish central and regional OSS centers and will undertake capacity building activities related to economic management.
BEZA will also increase the investment development activities through the project.
