Bilateral Economic Relations with Japan

The diplomatic relationship between Bangladesh and Japan was established on February 10^th, 1972. Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman came to Japan on an official visit in 1973 which laid the foundation of bilateral relations between the two countries. This relationship evolved during the last five decades and recently it became stronger than ever. Especially during the official visit of Japan by Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh H.E. Sheikh Hasina in 2014, a summit meeting was held with Japanese Prime Minster H.E. Mr. Shinzo Abe. They took the bilateral relationship to new level by upgrading it to ‘Comprehensive Partnership’. Since then, the economic cooperation between the two countries has been reaching new heights and Japan has become the single largest bilateral development partner of Bangladesh. Japanese assistance to Bangladesh encompasses a wide range of cooperation in power and energy, transportation, telecommunication, agriculture, infrastructure, water and sanitation, environment, health, education, human resource development and in other sectors of economy in the form of loan, grant, technical assistance and dispatching of volunteers and experts. Japanese loans are concessional in nature carrying one of the lowest interest rates and repayment period of thirty years including a ten-year grace period.

Japanese development assistance to Bangladesh

The JICA Bangladesh office was established in 1973, same year as the visit of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Japan, and the first Japanese ODA loan to the Bangladesh was also made that year. In the global context, the story of Bangladesh’s growth and development is quite remarkable. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh reached lower-middle income status in 2015. It is on track to graduate from the UN's Least Developed Countries (LDC) list in 2026. In order to accelerate economic growth, the Government of Bangladesh has adopted vision 2041 to become a high-income developed country. The Government of Japan has been extending continuous support to the development endeavors of Bangladesh in different important sectors including communication infrastructure, power, energy, telecommunication, health care, education, human resource development, urban and rural development etc.

General information:

• Japan is the largest bilateral development partner of Bangladesh.
• During the official visit of Japan by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in May 2014, she held summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. As an outcome of the meeting, Bangladesh and Japan upgraded their bilateral relations to the level of ‘Comprehensive Partnership’.
• Subsequently, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Bangladesh in September 2014 and after the summit meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Japan declared enhanced ODA support for Bangladesh in the coming years in line with the Comprehensive Partnership.
• Since independence, Japan has committed to provide ODA support of more than US$ 27.432 billion as project aid, food aid and commodity aid to Bangladesh in the form of grants, loans and technical assistance.
• Recently JICA provided budget support of loan in Japanese yen 75.00 billion (694 million USD) as COVID-19 crisis response emergency support.
• Currently, there are a total of 79 JICA assisted projects that are being implemented under ODA support, and that includes 33 loan projects, 11 grant aid projects, and 35 technical assistance projects.
• The 41st ODA loan package, that was the highest ever, have been signed for JP¥ 338.247 billion (approximately US$ 3.2 billion) in 2020 for 7 (seven) development projects.
• The 42^nd ODA loan package have been signed for JPY 310.285 billion (approximately US$ 2.823 billion) in 2021 for 4 (four) development projects.

Official Development Assistance (ODA) Loan Projects:

There are 33 (thirty three) on-going Loan projects including Dhaka-Mass Rapid Transit Development project, Matarbari Ultra Super Critical Coal-Fired Power project, Matarbari Port Development project, Kanchpur, Meghna and Gumti 2nd Bridge Construction project (II), Jamuna Railway Bridge Construction project, Foreign Direct Investment project, Energy Efficiency and Conservation Promotion project, Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Expansion Project, Health Services Strengthening project etc.

 Grants Aided Projects:

11 (eleven) Grant assisted projects including Human Resource Development (JDS Fellowship program), Improvement of Solid Waste Management Equipment, Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP IV), Economic and Social Development programme, Improvement of Meteorological RADAR Systems, Saline Water Treatment Plant, Ground Water Investigation and Development of Deep Ground Water Source in Urban and Rural Areas, Project for the Densification of Global Navigation Satellite System, Improvement of Rescue Capacities in the Coastal and Inland Waters etc.

Technical Assistance Projects:

There are 35 (thirty five) on-going Technical Assistance projects including Skill Development of ICT Engineers Targeting Japanese Market, Dhaka Integrated Traffic Management, Security Improvement of International Airports, Strengthening of Solid Waste Management in Dhaka North City, Dhaka South City and Chittagong City, Capacity Enhancement of Bangladesh Police, Promoting Building Safety for Disaster Risk Reduction, Capacity Building of Nursing Services, Strengthening Health Systems through Organizing Communities, National Integrity Strategy (NIS), Capacity Development of City Corporations, Strengthening Public Investment Management System (Phase 2) etc.

List of ODA Loan Projects as a result of ‘Comprehensive Partnership’ since 2014

JDS Scholarships

The main objective of the project is to provide opportunities for Bangladesh Civil Service Cadre and Bangladesh Bank officials to study Master’s and Ph.D degree courses in Japan which is helping human resource development in Bangladesh. Under Japan Human Resources Development Program, a total of 447 JDS fellows have been dispatched to Japan to study Master’s course since 2001. So far 388 officials returned after successful completion of their courses. At present, 59 officers are studying Master degree in nine reputed universities in Japan. In addition, JDS program introduced PhD program since 2018 for three slots each year, and so far, 12 officials have been enrolled for PhD program in Japan.

Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer (JOCV)

Japan dispatched 1,285 Japanese Overseas Cooperation Volunteers to work in different sectors for the skill development of their Bangladeshi counterparts. JOCVs have been a component of Japan’s development assistance program in Bangladesh. All Japanese volunteers were withdrawn followed by the killing of Japanese national Kunio Hoshi at Rangpur in October 2015. The Embassy is in continuous persuasion with the Japanese government for resuming the JOCV program.