It is encouraging to learn that Bangladesh and Japan are set to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on trade cooperation, which officials say will act as a precursor to a free trade agreement (FTA).
Bangladesh is soon to graduate from a least developed country (LDC) to becoming a middle-income developing economy, thereby losing many of the benefits that come with being an LDC. To that end, it is imperative that it continues exploring avenues and partners with which to establish favourable trade agreements.
Indeed, while in the past, Japan had been reluctant to move ahead with such arrangements, with the Japan-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JBCCI) recently conducting a survey on 300 companies, local firms, and Japanese companies operating in Bangladesh, and found the majority of them voicing that the two nations should sign a free-trade deal, it looks like the two nations are now closer to the agreement.
In addition, it is encouraging to see that Japan's ambassador to Bangladesh, Ito Naoki, at a recent event in Dhaka hoped that bilateral trade between the two countries might reach $20 billion by 2030, showing that there is genuine hope from both sides to take this current relationship to the next level.
It is now important for us to follow through with these plans and ensure that we are able to establish this proposed FTA. Moreover, such agreements should become the norm, and we must continue to establish rapport with other potential partner nations, so that as we continue to climb the rungs of the economic ladder, we are not caught unprepared for the inevitable shocks and surprises that come with it.
