Japan eyes private investment of up to 1 trillion yen in Bangladesh over the next five years, with the potential to create 200,000 jobs, as the two countries agreed to deepen economic cooperation, strengthen supply chains and upgrade their flagship development initiative to “BIG-B for Shared Prosperity”.
The projection was announced in a joint statement following a bilateral summit between Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Tuesday.
According to the joint statement, Sanae Takaichi lauded the efforts made by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's administration to promote foreign direct investment and welcomed a projection of upcoming private investment from Japan to Bangladesh up to 1 trillion yen
(Around US$ 6.343 billion) with 200,000 jobs to be created in Bangladesh by the investment from Japan in the next five years.
The two Prime Ministers welcomed major investments to be announced at this occasion and also shared the view to establish complementary and resilient supply chains in areas such as manufacturing, food and agriculture sectors, ICT, and pharmaceuticals.
Building upon past bilateral cooperation in the ICT sector, including IT & Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES), human resource development and digital collaboration, they shared the view on the importance of exploring further possibilities for cooperation to promote digital transformation, the development of highly skilled ICT professionals, and secure and reliable digital connectivity.
They also welcomed the signing of the Japan-Bangladesh Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), reaffirming their commitment to bringing it into force at an early date to boost bilateral trade and investment and support Bangladesh’s smooth and sustainable graduation from the least developed country (LDC) category.
Recalling the progress made under the bilateral flagship initiative of the BIG-B (Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt), which is an exclusive partnership between Japan and Bangladesh, and considering the rapidly changing global situation, a more prevalent supply chain risk, rapid technological innovation and mounting social issues, the two Prime Ministers noted the importance of enhancing resilience and preserving each country's freedom of decision. To this end, they decided to upgrade the initiative into "BIG-B for Shared Prosperity."
They noted that the "BIG-B for Shared Prosperity" aims to integrate the development of power, energy, deep-sea port, industrial and ICT infrastructure, build a major nexus for industrial value chains, develop into a trade and supply gateway and generate growth and prosperity, by enhancing connectivity, enhancing resilience against risks including natural disasters and geopolitical uncertainties, public-private partnership in co-creating opportunities for economic growth and rulemaking, and stepping up cooperation for peace and stability.
The two leaders concurred on working together to develop the Matarbari-Maheshkhali area as a major hub for logistics, energy and industry, centered at the Matarbari Deep Sea Port. -UNB