By Shakir Husain
NEW DELHI, May 30 (Bernama) -- Japan will offer US$1 billion to Bangladesh in budgetary support and to upgrade a key railway line.
The financial package was agreed during Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus’s visit to Tokyo, where he held talks on bilateral and regional issues with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday.
“Of the total, Japan will provide US$418 million as a Development Policy Loan for Bangladesh's economic reforms and climate resilience.
“Tokyo will also lend US$641 million for upgradation of Joydevpur-Ishwardi into a dual-gauge double railway track and another US$4.2 million as grants for scholarships," his office said in a statement on Friday.
In a joint statement, Ishiba reiterated Japan's support to the Bangladesh interim government in its "nation-building efforts, its reform initiatives, and its endeavour towards a peaceful transition".
The two leaders emphasised the need to resolve the Myanmar humanitarian crisis, which has forced more than 1.2 million people of the Rohingya ethnic community to flee to Bangladesh.
"Both sides shared the view that a sustainable, safe, voluntary, and dignified repatriation of the displaced persons to Myanmar is the ultimate solution to this crisis for peace and stability across the region. Both sides also recognised the importance of sincere dialogue among all relevant stakeholders to resolve the crisis," the statement stated.
Yunus, who arrived in Japan on Wednesday on a four-day visit, engaged with Japanese businesses, prominent figures and organisations.
Delivering a keynote address on Thursday at Nikkei's annual Future of Asia conference, Yunus called on Asian nations to deepen cooperation and strive for inclusive growth.
The Bangladesh leader on Friday witnessed the signing of six memorandums of understanding (MOUs) areas such as investment cooperation and manufacturing between Japanese and Bangladeshi entities on the sidelines of a business seminar.
One involves cooperation in energy projects between the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Bangladesh's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.
The Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) has signed an agreement with a Japanese consortium to establish a factory for battery-powered bicycles and an electric motorcycle manufacturing plant.
-- BERNAMA
