Japan will work towards the early repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh by communicating with Myanmar, Japanese Ambassador in Dhaka Ito Naoki has said.
It is important to cooperate with international community, including the US, Europe and ASEAN countries, and to start the confidence building process as the next step, the ambassador said while replying to a question after delivering an online lecture at the Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC) on November 10, according to the Embassy of Japan on Sunday.
At the lecture on “Japan and Bangladesh -50 Years of Friendship,” more than 200 students of the DSCSC Masters’ program discussed the relationship between Dhaka and Tokyo.
Ambassador Ito emphasized how committed Japan has been to realizing the prosperity of Bangladesh as well as maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
He emphasized the expanding economic ties between the two countries, quality infrastructure projects under BIG-B, and the common vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP).
The ambassador also asked officers for increasing interaction between the peoples by taking the opportunity of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations in 2022.
The question and answer session also covered cooperation between the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force and Bangladesh Navy.
Free and Open Indo-Pacific
FOIP is a vision to promote peace and prosperity of the countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
The core pillars of FOIP are to establish a rules-based international order and consolidate principles such as free trade, freedom of navigation, and the rule of law, to pursue economic prosperity through quality infrastructure and connectivity, and to promote cooperation on peace and stability including anti-terrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster management.
Together with like-minded countries that share the vision, Japan is leading efforts to this end.
BIG-B initiative
In 2014, Japan and Bangladesh agreed to launch "the Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt (BIG-B)" initiative. The BIG-B initiative involves developing infrastructure, improving the investment environment and fostering connectivity along the Dhaka-Chittagong-Cox's Bazar belt area and beyond.
The Moheshkhali-Matarbari Integrated Infrastructure Development Initiative (MIDI), the largest Infrastructure project of Bangladesh, is an integral part of BIGB.
