JICA to continue strong support for Bangladesh

JICA sees its relations with Bangladesh in the next five years "extremely important" as it is helping Bangladesh reach the next level of development with the completion of a number of mega projects, says a senior official at the JICA headquarters.

"JICA will continue its strong support towards infrastructure and social development sectors," Director of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) South Asia Division Takahashi Akito at his office in Tokyo, reports UNB.

The JICA official laid emphasis on linking such infrastructure development to the economic growth "very efficiently."

Explaining the importance of the next five years in Bangladesh-Japan relations, Akito mentioned the Vision 2021 target of Bangladesh, the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh-Japan diplomatic relations in 2022, 50 years anniversary of JICA volunteers in 2023, opening of Matarbari port and Matarbari coal-fired power project and other mega projects, including the opening of the much-hyped metro rail service.

"This period is very important for Bangladesh's next stage of development," said the JICA official who is looking into Bangladesh affairs in Tokyo. Responding to a question, the official said Bangladesh is located in a strategically very important place and connectivity plays an important role.

"We're supporting to further strengthen the connectivity in the region." In the future, he said they hope to provide support for integrated development of Moheshkhali-Matarbari area to make it an energy and power hub in the region.

Moheshkhali-Matarbari area is the core area BIG-B (the Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt) initiative which consists of logistic, power, energy and waterfront industry hub, said the official.  Highly appreciating Bangladesh's economic progress over the past years, Akito said they are very proud to see Bangladesh as one of the most successful countries to achieve higher economic growth in the region. 

The JICA official, however, said there are some challenges ahead for Bangladesh that need to be addressed to continue the growth trend and making the growth sustainable. Citing sole dependence on readymade garment industry, Akito said the diversification of industry is one of the key issues to achieve further economic development.

In order to further promote Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), the JICA official said the improvement of procedures to create an appropriate environment for foreign companies is essential.

He also laid emphasis on human development-boosting capacity to contribute to the need and the greater growth of the country.

Talking about Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), he appreciated Bangladesh government's efforts and mentioned that almost all the projects are linked with the SDGs. "I hope your country will be successful and JICA will continue supporting Bangladesh to achieve such goals."