AMN
Japan views Bangladesh and other areas to the south as a single economic zone and it will seek to promote the Bay of Bengal-Northeast India industrial value chain concept in cooperation with India and Bangladesh to foster the growth of the entire region, says Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. He said Northeast India, surrounded by land, still has unexploited economic potential.
Delivering the 41st Sapru House lecture in New Delhi yesterday, Prime Minister Kishida outlined his vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) as the guiding perspective to be shared by the international community.
Outlining the four pillars of cooperation for FOIP, Prime Minister Kishida said principles for peace and rule for prosperity is the backbone of FOIP. He said renunciation of unilateral changes to the status quo by force and of economic coercion is also an essential condition for building economic relations based on trust.
Referring to Bangladesh which is soon going to graduate from LDC status, Prime Minister Kishida said that Japan has launched the joint study group on the possibility of an Economic Partnership Agreement with Bangladesh. This also reflects the important FOIP principle of ‘excluding no one’.
Prime Minister Kishida announced that Japan will promote the implementation of the G20 principles for ‘Quality Infrastructure Investment’. He said Japan will encourage its companies capable of providing quality infrastructure for overseas operations to revitalise both the local economies and Japan’s economy. He declared that Japan will collaborate closely with India and contribute to stability in the South Asian region.