Bangladesh signs 6 MoUs with Japan to boost bilateral cooperation

Bangladesh and Japan have signed six Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation across various sectors, including energy, technology, manufacturing, and investment facilitation.

The agreements were signed during a high-level meeting between Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo on Friday (May 30).

The details were confirmed in an official statement released by the Chief Advisor's press wing following the meeting.

The first MoU was signed between the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Bangladesh's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, aims to strengthen cooperation on energy infrastructure projects.

The second MoU was signed between ONODA Inc. and Bangladesh SEZ Limited (BSEZ) for a land lease agreement for BSEZ to establish operations within the Bangladesh Special Economic Zone. ONODA, which previously implemented a JICA-supported gas meter project, plans to manufacture, inspect, and maintain gas meter assemblies at its BSEZ facility.

A separate MoU was signed between Bangladesh Naxis Co. Ltd. and BSEZ for another land lease. Naxis intends to set up a factory in the zone to produce garment accessories.

The fourth MoU involved Glafit and Musashi Seimitsu Industries Glafit and Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) to facilitate the establishment of a factory for battery-powered bicycles and electric motorcycles.

The fifth MoU involves Cipher Co. Ltd., which is committed to investing $20 million to launch a national pilot project in Bangladesh using award-winning inventor Takatoshi Nakamura’s full cipher technology. The initiative aims to make Bangladesh a leader in quantum-resilient digital security, with local companies given exclusive deployment and expansion rights.

The sixth MoU involves the Japan International Cooperation Agency and BIDA to support the development of the Integrated Single Window Platform (ISWP), a platform seeks to unify services from various investment promotion agencies across the country, streamlining investor access and improving service delivery.

During the signing ceremony, Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus praised the collaborative efforts, stating, “Now it is our job to implement these agreements. I am inspired by the potential they bring.”