The newly appointed Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Iwama Kiminori yesterday presented his credentials to President Abdul Hamid.
Japan, as a friend of Bangladesh since its inception, wants to consider possible cooperation and collaboration with all related actors to address challenges that Bangladesh is facing, Kiminori said in a message.
"The government of Bangladesh aims to become a developed country by 2041. In order to achieve this goal, Bangladesh is attempting to overcome various challenges such as climate change, health, and education," he added.
The Japanese envoy said the year 2023 marks the 51st year of diplomatic relations between Japan and Bangladesh. In other words, he said, 2023 is the first year for the next 50 years.
"I feel honored to start undertaking my responsibility as Ambassador in the year of 2022, which marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Bangladesh," he said.
Throughout the year, there must have been moments to look back at progress over the last half century, said the envoy.
Before coming to Bangladesh, the envoy said, he has learned that many Japanese have been involved and worked hard for the development of this country for 50 years as true friends of Bangladesh.
"I have also learned from a number of Japanese people who have close connections with Bangladesh that Bangladeshi people are not only working hard to develop the country but also possess great respect and affiliations for Japan and its nationals," he said.
Ambassador Kiminori said he is committed to make his best effort to strengthen the friendly relations between the two countries.
In particular, he said, in recent years, many mega projects contributing to the improvement of economic infrastructure are going on under the Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt initiatives (BIG-B).
"Given this situation, the importance of Japan, as a major and largest development partner of Bangladesh, has been prospering," said the envoy.
