DHAKA, May 17, 2023 (BSS) - Foreign Secretary (FS) Masud Bin Momen today said 
planned Matarbari sea port along with existing Payra, Mongla and Chattogram 
with connectivity to India, Nepal, Bhutan and ASEAN can help Bangladesh 
achieving 10 percent growth to become a developed nation by 2041.

He was speaking at a colloquium titled "From the Himalayas to the Bay of 
Bengal: New Possibilities in the Bangladesh, Japan, India Trilateral 
Partnership", organised by The Center for Peace Studies (CPS) of South Asian 
Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) at the North South University. 

At the event, South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) Executive 
Director and Dhaka University (DU) Economics Professor Dr. Selim Raihan presented a study on 
the impact of Matarbari, jointly conducted by SANEM and Shillong-based Indian 
think tank -- Asian Confluence. 

The study said Bangladesh's GDP growth will increase by 1.14 percent, while 
nearly a million jobs will be created once the Matarbari Deep Sea Port starts 
operations.

 Japan is implementing the Matarbari deep sea port, while also investing in 
India's northeast. During Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's recent visit to 
Japan, they discussed creating industrial value chain and connectivity to the 
Northeastern India and southeastern Bangladesh centering Matarbari.

As per the Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt (BIG-B) initiative, Japan 
seeks to accelerate industrial agglomeration along the Dhaka-Chittagong-Cox's 
Bazar belt area and beyond, encompassing developing economic infrastructure, 
improving investment environment and fostering connectivity.

At the discussion, Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Iwama Kiminori said 
Japan would continue the development activities in Bangladesh as it has been 
doing in the last 50 years. 

Japan is not against any country in its policy on the Indo-pacific, rather it 
seeks an inclusive, free, open and peaceful Indo-pacific, the envoy added.