Osaka: State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan Ogushi Masaki today met with Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin at the Japanese pavilion at the venue of World Expo 2025. During the meeting, they discussed in detail the bilateral trade, investment prospects, and areas of cooperation, said a press release received here.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Bashir emphasized Bangladesh’s eagerness to deepen and strengthen friendly relations with Japan. He highlighted that the fifth round of negotiations for the signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement (APA) to increase bilateral trade has already been concluded fruitfully. He also pointed out that a significant portion of Bangladesh’s population is young, between the ages of 16 and 30, and efforts are underway to transform them into skilled and qualified manpower through training for the Japanese labor market.
As part of these efforts, Japanese language training has been arranged at technical training centers in Bangladesh. Bashir sought the cooperation of the Japanese government in creating more technical training centers in Bangladesh and in providing international standard training opportunities.
He further mentioned that Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan has already invested in a fertilizer factory in Bangladesh, signifying the importance of such investments for the country. Bashir urged the Japanese government and private institutions to consider further Japanese investment in Bangladesh.
Japanese State Minister Ogushi Masaki expressed the Japanese government’s commitment to strengthening trade relations with Bangladesh. He assured that any differences between the two countries regarding the implementation of the Economic Partnership Agreement would be resolved through discussions, with effective steps to be taken to implement it as soon as possible. He added that the arrival of skilled manpower from Bangladesh into the Japanese labor market would open a new dimension of trade and assured overall cooperation in creating such skilled manpower.
The meeting was attended by Bangladesh Ambassador to Japan Md Daud Ali, Director of Southwest Asia Affairs of Japan’s Trade Policy Bureau Shimano Toshiyuki, Director of Economic Partnership Division of Trade Policy Bureau Uchino Hiroto, and Bangladesh Commercial Counselor to Japan Morarji Desai Burman, along with officials of the Bangladesh Embassy.