Of the numerous advantages of having a personality such as Muhammad Yunus lead Bangladesh's rebuild, arguably the most integral has been his global reach and appeal to help us with our diplomacy and strengthening relationships with other nations - a necessary strategy that continues to grow in importance.
This is even more salient for deeper engagement with nations closer to us who have built their economy, and can show us the way to achieving our goals, specifically Far East nations like China and Japan.
To that end, the chief advisor’s upcoming visit to China, scheduled for March 26, is yet another opportunity for us to be able to deepen our growing bond with China, with high-level discussions planned with President Xi Jinping. The agenda, which covers political relations, trade, health, water, foreign loans, agriculture, connectivity, and energy cooperation, presents a comprehensive effort to further strengthen bilateral ties.
Simultaneously, Bangladesh is keen on advancing public-private partnership (PPP) projects with Japan, focusing on infrastructure development. Through recent discussions in Tokyo, a Bangladeshi delegate highlighted the progress of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Terminal 3 project and potential cooperation in railway and road transport sectors, including the Kamalapur Multimodal Transport Hub and MRT Line 6.
Both nations have been pivotal for Bangladesh’s impressive economic achievements of the 21st century, and in order for Bangladesh to successfully bounce back as an economy and continue to stride towards prosperity, they will continue to be of significant importance. As such, deepening ties with both China and Japan, and indeed other nations in the East, is a prudent economic strategy for the current and subsequent administrations and should not be dismissed as an afterthought.
