Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that Bangladesh is discussing free trade agreements with 11 countries.
She disclosed the information in an exclusive interview at Ganabhaban on April 18, as the South Asian country seeks new means to promote exports once preferential tariff exemptions expire in three years.
The prime minister spoke with Nikkei Asia at her official residence in Dhaka ahead of a visit to Japan -- her first in four years -- that starts tomorrow.
Sheikh Hasina will be on an official visit to Japan from April 25-28 at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.
Bangladesh will be facing a "very different situation" once it completes the transition out of Least Developed Country status -- a United Nations classification that exempts the poorest nations from tariffs on exports to developed countries, said Sheikh Hasina.
The nation of around 170 million people has met the criteria for graduating and will lose the existing privileges in 2026. "Therefore, we have taken the initiative" to pursue a range of trade deals,” PM Hasina said.
"We want to sign these FTAs so that we can increase our business and trade. At present, we are in discussion with 11 countries."
Bangladesh currently has limited trade agreements with other developing countries, but no FTAs.
Sheikh Hasina did not name the potential new partners, but they are expected to include India, China and Japan. Dhaka and Tokyo began joint studies on an FTA at the end of last year.
Bangladesh is the world's second-largest exporter of garments after China. These products account for 80% of its exports, however, making diversification a priority. Hasina pointed to food processing and digital equipment as promising areas.
She also highlighted the resources of the Bay of Bengal, including fisheries.
"Now we want to explore how we can use [the bay] for our economic development," she said.
Meanwhile, major powers see the bay and Bangladesh in particular as increasingly important from a strategic standpoint. Washington, New Delhi and Beijing are all keen to expand their influence in the country. Hasina, for her part, expressed a commitment to neutral diplomacy.
"Our priority is how we can develop our country," she said. "For our development, I believe that we should have a good relationship with every country."
Ties with Japan have been instrumental to the development story so far, PM Hasina stressed. With Japan's assistance, Bangladesh at the end of 2022 opened its first metro rail line as well as its first industrial park with infrastructure commensurate with international standards.
A new terminal under construction at Dhaka's international airport is also expected to be run by a Japanese consortium. In addition, in the Matarbari district in the south, Japan is leading and funding the development of Bangladesh's first deep-sea port.
"For infrastructure development, for economic cooperation, Japan has been very cooperative and supportive of Bangladesh," Hasina said during the interview.
As the Bangladesh leader put it, investors in Bangladesh "can have access to other countries also."
Japan envisions Bangladesh as one of four potential recipients in the first year of its new Official Security Assistance (OSA) program, under which military equipment will be provided to friendly countries for free.
Bangladesh has experienced repeated political interventions by its army. Sheikh Hasina's father and Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated in a coup in 1975. Asked about building trust with the military, she emphasized the importance of showing them the fruits of economic growth. The army recognizes "the progress I have made for them," she said.
At present, the actions of a military beyond its borders are straining Bangladesh. The country hosts one of the world's largest refugee settlements in Cox's Bazar, with around 1 million people -- mainly Rohingya Muslims -- who fled violent persecution by the army in Myanmar. Dhaka says this is a burden it cannot afford.
"Now, all the support we used to receive from the outside world is actually declining," Hasina said.
She called for cooperation in creating an environment for the safe and early return of the refugees to Myanmar, though that may be a remote prospect under the military regime that seized power there in early 2021.
