Handout                                                                                                            Number :  3372

Foreign Office Consultation (FOC) held between Bangladesh and Japan

Tokyo (Japan), 17 December :           

Japan will further promote the Japan-Bangladesh Comprehensive Partnership and continue to fully support Bangladesh's development on all fronts so that the country can attain the status of a middle-income country by 2021, said Senior Deputy Minister of Japanese Foreign Ministry Kazuyuki Yamazaki at 2^nd Bangladesh-Japan Foreign Office Consultation held at Tokyo today. The First FOC was held in Dhaka on February 2015. Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh Shahidul Haque is leading a 10 member delegation to Japan for the Foreign Secretary level dialogue. Ambassador of Bangladesh to Japan Rabab Fatima and representatives from other ministries were also present during the discussion.

The FOC reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and took stock of implementation status of decisions taken in the past at different levels of the two governments. Consensus was reached to strengthen economic and commercial relations, and to explore new areas of cooperation.

The Foreign Secretary expressed hope that Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt (Big-B) Initiative will accelerate cooperation for development of quality infrastructure and the investment environment in Bangladesh and will strengthen regional connectivity. He requested Japan’s support to set up skills and Japanese language training center in Bangladesh to train potential Bangladeshi workers for recruitment in highly skilled and less skilled sectors under  Japan’s newly adopted immigration law. Shahidul Haque requested Japan to foster greater friendship and people-to-people exchanges between two countries. Defining Bangladesh’s plan to develop inclusive and people centric blue economy, he requested Japanese assistance and collaboration in deep sea fishing and ocean resource mapping.

Kazuyuki Yamazaki highly commended Bangladesh’s humanitarian support to the displaced Myanmar nationals and reiterated Japan’s continued support for the safe and voluntary return and resettlement of the Myanmar nationals.

            On the sideline of FOC, Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque paid a courtesy call on  State Minister of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan Ichiro Tsukada at his office and discussed issues of mutual interest. Mr. Tsukada is also Secretary General of Bangladesh-Japan Parliamentary Friendship (JBPFL) which works to enhance and strengthen cooperation between parliamentarians of the two countries. Shahidul Haque also met Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobukatsu Kanehara at Prime Minister’s Office and discussed bilateral, regional and strategic issues.

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Shiplu/Mahmud/Masum/Shamim/2018/2020 Hrs.

Handout                                                                                                         Number :  3371

Agreements signed for three development projects

Dhaka, 17 December :           

            Signing of three agreements among the Government of Bangladesh represented by The Economic Relations Division (ERD), Ministry of Finance and European Investment Bank (EIB), Department for International Development (DFID), European Union has been completed today.

            Secretary of ERD Monwar Ahmed signed the agreement on behalf of ERD. EIB Head of Division Angela Marcarino Paris and Roger Stuart, Country Representative of DFID Bangladesh Jim McAlpine and EU Director Pierre Amilhat signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations.

            A Finance contract is signed between ERD and The European Investment Bank on “Bangladesh Rail Fleet Modernization Project”. Total cost of the project is 327 million EUR. EIB will provide a loan up to 110 million EUR as a co-financer, ADB will provide a loan up to 166 million EUR and rest of the cost will be borne by the government of Bangladesh. The main objective of this 4 year long project is to procure 200 BG passenger carriages with a view to replace the overaged stocks, enhance availability of rolling stocks and meet up increased demands of passenger trains to facilitate transportation of people by Railway with extension of services to the remote areas of the country.

            Another MOU is signed between ERD and DFID on the project "Pathways to Prosperity for Extremely Poor People/ PPEPP), worth of a grant of 109.6 million GBP. DFID will make available 80 million GBP while The European Union will co-fund 29.6 million GBP through DFID. The project will contribute to the eradication of extreme poverty in Bangladesh by supporting the Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation. It will also support national policies and plans to provide effective services and resources to extremely poor and vulnerable households.

            The last Financing Agreement has been signed on 'Human Capital Development Programme for Bangladesh 2021 (HCDP 21)' The total estimated cost of the project is 205 million EUR, a sole contribution from EU. The overall objective of the programme is to support the government of Bangladesh in the implementation of its development policies at a better educated, trained and qualified human capital by 2021 as laid down in its national strategic development plans.

            DFID, EIB and EU have been providing financial and technical assistance for the
socio-economic development of Bangladesh. These agencies have a legacy in supporting the poverty alleviation, strengthening humanitarian preparedness and response, strategic partnership arrangement, strengthening democratic government and human rights, food security & nutrition, education and skill development, power, energy, transport and RMG sectors of Bangladesh. The present initiatives are continuation of development cooperation among the countries.

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Irine/Mahmud/Masum/Shamim/2018/1927 Hrs.