Japan to continue supporting Bangladesh on Rohingya issue: New ambassador

Japan supports early repatriation of the Rohingya and will continue to support the efforts made by the Bangladeshi government, the new ambassador said.

“My recent visit to the mega camp (Cox’s Bazar) made me recognise again the necessity of working for displaced people and people in the host community, and of realising their early repatriation,” Naoki Ito said while hosting a reception at his residence on Tuesday.

He presented his credentials on Oct 17.

He worked in Myanmar 20 years ago and in India 10 years ago. “I am now in the middle of the two countries where I have worked before,” he said, “But, of course, Bangladesh was different.”

“As we move forward, there will be important milestones of our partnership.

Year 2021 will be the 50th anniversary of the independence of Bangladesh, and Year 2022 will be the 50th anniversary of the Bangladesh-Japan diplomatic relations,” he said.

“They will be very good opportunities to further strengthen ties between the two countries and to elevate them to a higher dimension.”

He said the embassy of Japan, together with JETRO, will take “every opportunity to improve the business environment so that Japanese companies can expand their trade between our two countries and increase their direct investment”.

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Md Nojibur Rahman, and secretary to the foreign ministry Md. Kamrul Ahsan were present, among others.