Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be on an official visit to Japan from April 25 to 28, at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio. A number of memorandums of cooperation are expected to be signed during the PM's official visit. Both the governments of Bangladesh and Japan hope that this visit will further strengthen the friendly relations between the two countries. Japan wants to elevate the bilateral ties with Bangladesh to a "strategic" level, adding more elements like defence and security areas to the growing relations. Read: 5th Japan-Bangladesh Public-Pvt Joint Economic Dialogue held online with calls for more investment The two countries now have a comprehensive partnership and Japan intends to elevate it. This will be the sixth visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Japan. Earlier, she visited Japan in 1997, 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2019. During her stay in Japan, the Prime Minister will be received by the Emperor of Japan. Prime Minister Fumio will hold a summit meeting with the Bangladesh Prime Minister and then host a working dinner in her honour. Read: Bangladesh to play vital role in Japan's vision for Free and Open Indo-Pacific: Ambassador During the visit, the PM is scheduled to attend an investment summit and a community reception along with a few bilateral meetings. She will also hand over the “Friends of Liberation War Honour” to a few Japanese nationals, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Prime Minister is likely to visit the US and UK after wrapping up her Japan visit but there is no official announcement yet regarding the US and UK visits. The Prime Minister has been invited to attend the coronation of UK's King Charles III, to be hosted by the Buckingham Palace on May 6. Read More: Pranay Verma highlights “deep bonds of friendship, cooperation” with Bangladesh She is likely to travel to Washington DC to attend a programme on May 1 to celebrate 50 years of partnership between Bangladesh and the World Bank.

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio on Monday said Bangladesh will soon graduate from being classified as a least developed country, and they have already launched the Joint Study Group on the possibility of an Economic Partnership Agreement with Bangladesh. He said this also reflects the important Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) principle of "excluding no one." The Japanese Prime Minister was delivering a policy speech at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA). He described Japan's plan to develop a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific." Also Read: Japan PM Kishida to announce new Indo-Pacific plan in India "To achieve this, India is an indispensable partner. I believe that Japan and India are in an extremely unique position in the current international relations and, furthermore, in the history of the world," he said. India is the largest democracy in the world, said the Japanese PM, adding that they have always viewed with great respect the way such a huge and diverse country as India has developed democracy. "Japan, for its part, was the first country in Asia to achieve modernization and embrace democracy," he said. Also Read: 11 Bangladeshi auto mechanics get jobs in Japan "It is fair to say that both countries are naturally receptive to and fully committed to the idea of electing governments through general elections and deciding policies through public debate," said Kishida Fumio. He said Japan and India have a great responsibility for maintaining and strengthening "a free and open international order based on the rule of law."　 "This year, as Japan holds the G7 presidency and India holds the G20 presidency, my hope is that, through working together with ASEAN and other many countries, we will bring about peace and prosperity to the international community, which faces a time of challenges," he said. The vision for achieving this is FOIP, a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" based on the rule of law. "I believe that this region will be a "place where freedom and the rule of law are valued, free from force or coercion." The PM said Japan will spare no efforts to cooperate with India for the success of the G20. "I am looking forward to welcoming Prime Minister Modi to Hiroshima in May and visiting India again in September," he said. Prime Minister of Japan Kishida Fumio is paying an official visit to India on 20-21 March.