State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan Ogushi Masaki today met with Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin at Japanese pavilion at the venue of World Expo 2025. Photo: PID

DHAKA, May 11, 2025 (BSS)- State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan Ogushi Masaki today met with Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin at Japanese pavilion at the venue of World Expo 2025.

During the meeting, they discussed in details the bilateral trade, investment prospects and areas of cooperation, said a press release received here.

Bashir said Bangladesh is keen to deepen and strengthen friendly relations with Japan. The fifth round of negotiations for the signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement (APA) to increase bilateral trade has already been concluded fruitfully, he added.

He said that a large part of the total population of Bangladesh is young, between the ages of 16 and 30. Steps are being taken to transform them into skilled and qualified manpower through training and send them to the Japanese labour market, he added. 

As a part of this, the adviser said Japanese language training has been arranged at technical training centres in Bangladesh. 

He sought the cooperation of the Japanese government in creating more technical training centers in Bangladesh and creating opportunities for providing international standard training. 

Bashir said that Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan has already invested in a fertilizer factory in Bangladesh, which is important for the country. 

He urged the Japanese government and private institutions to come forward for more Japanese investment in Bangladesh.

Japanese State Minister Ogushi Masaki said the Japanese government is committed to strengthening trade relations with Bangladesh. All the differences between the two countries in the implementation of the Economic Partnership Agreement will be resolved through discussions and effective steps will be taken to implement it as soon as possible, he added. 

If skilled manpower from Bangladesh comes to the labor market of Japan, a new dimension of trade will be opened, he added, assuring of providing overall cooperation in creating skilled manpower.

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, ??were present at the meeting.