Bangladesh and Japan want to elevate the bilateral relations to ‘strategic partnership’ level during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s upcoming visit to Japan. The Prime Minister is scheduled to visit Japan from November 29 to December 1, at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The planned visit was discussed when the Director General of Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Arima Yutaka met Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen in Dhaka on Thursday. At the meeting, both sides expressed satisfaction at the growing bilateral relations between the two countries. They particularly highlighted the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Japan in May 2014, when she and the then Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe elevated the bilateral relations between the countries to ‘Comprehensive Partnership’ level, and also the visit of Shinzo Abe to Bangladesh in September 2014, when the two countries forged deeper economic partnership under BIG-B. Read: PM’s Japan Visit: Dhaka to seek more investment, financing for big projects Both sides expected that during PM Hasina’s upcoming visit, Bangladesh and Japan would foster deeper economic partnership in terms of development cooperation, trade and investment, human resources development, agriculture, ICT, education, defence dialogue and exchanges, people-to-people connectivity, repatriation of Rohingyas, etc. The two sides also expressed the desire to enhance cooperation in international fora, including on climate change, UN reforms, disarmament and non-proliferation, etc. Ambassador of Japan to Bangladesh Ito Naoki and Director General (East Asia and Pacific) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also joined the meeting. The Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan is on a two-day visit to Dhaka to discuss the preparations of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s upcoming visit to Japan.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen will be accompanying Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her upcoming visits to London, New York and Washington, said an official of the foreign ministry. Momen was not part of the PM’s entourage during her just-concluded state visit to India (September 5-8), citing “health reasons”. The Prime Minister is scheduled to visit the United  Kingdom and the United States from September 15 to September 30, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The seventy-seventh session of the UN General Assembly opens on September 13 with the theme, “A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges.” Read: Momen not accompanying PM in India: Dipu Moni questions media’s use of “dropped” The theme stems from the recognition that the world is at a critical moment in the history of the United Nations due to complex and interconnected crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, humanitarian challenges of unprecedented nature, a tipping point in climate change as well as growing concerns about threats to the global economy. At the UN General Assembly, on September 20, heads of states and governments will explore solutions to the outstanding global challenges. This year’s general debate, which runs through September 26, is expected to be fully in-person. Read: Dhaka, Delhi likely to sign 7 deals, MoUs during PM's India visit: FM

Former Indian Foreign Secretary and G20 Chief Coordinator Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Tuesday said Bangladesh is a remarkable story in terms of growth and development. He highlighted the achievements and accomplishments made by the two countries over the last decade and shed light on future cooperation between the two countries as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to visit New Delhi September first week at the invitation of her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.  "Bangladesh's relations with India are very special and eternal," said former Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque, adding the PM Modi and PM Hasina share an excellent relationship. Haque also said, "I have no doubt that forthcoming visit of PM Sheikh Hasina to India will yield very positive results." The two former Foreign Secretaries were addressing at a programme "Special Lecture on Bangladesh's Foreign Policy" organised by Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), at Sapru House.  Vijay Thakur Singh, DG, ICWA, delivered opening remarks on the occasion. Shringla appreciated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s zero-tolerance policy against terrorism which sent a signal that both the countries needed peace and stability.  He said that was very important for the two countries' progress and development.  Shringla said both India and Bangladesh enjoy a very close and unique relations. He noted growing trade relations between the two countries with sound economic policies in both the countries.  The much-awaited Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) meeting between Bangladesh and India would be held on August 25 to discuss water sharing issues as the two countries share 54 rivers. “We are thankful to the Indian side as they agreed to my proposal (to resume JRC meeting before PM’s visit). We have agreed on a number of issues in principle. We hope some development will happen,” Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told reporters recently. Momen said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina agreed to visit New Delhi on September 5-6 at the invitation of her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. “We want to build a stronger relationship with India,” he said, adding that bilateral issues and relevant issues in the context of the current global scenario are likely to be discussed during PM Hasina’s forthcoming visit. At the invitation of Prime Minister Hasina, her Indian counterpart Modi paid a state visit to Bangladesh from March 26 to 27 last year to join the celebrations of the Golden Jubilee of the Independence of Bangladesh, the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 50 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and India. The visit symbolised the partnership of half-a-century between India and Bangladesh that has “strengthened, matured and evolved” as a model for bilateral relations for the entire region.