Both countries decided to resume a bilateral policy dialogue in carrying out development cooperation projects after Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio "assured" Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that his nation will consider a "new budget support assistance".
Talking to the reporters in Tokyo, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen stated that Japan will give Bangladesh "30 billion yen" as a pledge of support.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, Bangladesh Ambassador to Japan, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Seheli Sabrin were also present at the briefing.
At the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, Sheikh Hasina is currently on an official visit to Japan and had a summit meeting on April 26.
Recalling Japan’s commitment to provide assistance of up to 600 billion yen in about 4 to 5 years from 2014 — expressed in the joint statement on May 26, 2014 — the two prime ministers noted with satisfaction the successful fulfillment of the pledge.
They further expressed satisfaction that Japan’s assistance since 2014 totaled more than 2 trillion yen, according to a joint statement seen by the reporters.
Prime Minister Kishida congratulated Bangladesh on its graduation from Least Developed Countries (LDC) category with effect from 2026 and expressed his decision to continually support Bangladesh’s efforts towards its LDC graduation and further development.
Prime Minister Hasina expressed her sincere gratitude for Japan’s tremendous and effective support over the past 50 years as the largest bilateral development partner and acknowledged that the Japanese assistance had contributed greatly to its LDC graduation.
