Former Japanese First Lady Akie Abe has expressed interest in collaborating with Bangladesh on efforts to prevent marine pollution.
“We have to prevent garbage from being dumped into the Bay of Bengal. We want to collaborate in these efforts. I hope we can do something in the future,” she said.
Akie Abe, during her recent meeting with Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, also stressed the need for a large-scale public awareness campaign to educate people about the dangers of ocean pollution.
Prof Yunus called on Japanese investors to expand investment in Bangladesh and recruit more Bangladeshi workers for employment in Japan, the world’s fourth-largest economy.
Akie Abe and a delegation of Japanese entrepreneurs paid a courtesy call on him at the State Guest House Jamuna in Dhaka on Sunday.
Eyeing stronger ties with Dhaka to advance peace, prosperity: Ambassador Christensen
Akie Abe praised Prof Yunus’s leadership in restoring peace and stability in Bangladesh and guiding the country’s economic recovery, said Chief Adviser’s press wing on Monday.
During the meeting, the Chief Adviser and the former First Lady discussed potential cooperation in investment, marine research, and the recruitment of caregivers and nurses for Japan, which is facing rapid population ageing.
Prof Yunus informed the Japanese delegation that he plans to visit Tokyo in the third week of March, after stepping down as head of the interim government, to participate in a joint ocean research initiative with the prestigious Sasakawa Foundation.
At the invitation of the Chief Adviser, Sasakawa Foundation has also planned to sign an agreement with the newly constituted Maheshkhali-Matarbari Development Authority to establish three model fishing villages along the Chattogram coast.
The Chief Adviser said his government has intensified efforts to train thousands of nurses and caregivers for employment in Japan and has expanded Japanese language training programmes to support this initiative.
He said that Bangladesh has already signed agreements with Japanese investors to send at least 100,000 workers to Japan over the next five years and sought the support of Abe and the Japanese delegation to further increase worker recruitment.
Bangladesh, Pakistan discuss regional, global issues
Mitsuru Izumo, founder of leading biofuel producer Euglena, also addressed the meeting and expressed interest in supporting initiatives in Bangladesh, including social business ventures.
Prof Yunus said the interim government is fully prepared to hold free, fair, and peaceful elections on February 12, after which he will return to his previous work.
He reiterated that he has no intention of joining politics or holding any government or state position in the future.
Instead, Prof Yunus plans to focus on expanding quality healthcare, fostering entrepreneurship among young people, and promoting his vision of a “three-zero world” zero unemployment, zero net carbon emissions, and zero net wealth concentration.
SDGs Affairs Principal Coordinator and Senior Secretary Lamiya Morshed was also present at the meeting.