On May 16th, Ambassador Hiroyasu Izumi hosted a reception to celebrate His Majesty the Emperor Naruhito’s accession to the Imperial throne. His Excellency Dr. A K Abdul Momen, MP Hon’ble Foreign Minister presented speech as the chief guest, stating I believe that in the new era, ‘Reiwa’, the deep bond of friendship between our two countries will grow stronger and even stronger.’ ‘I am confident that as in the past, Japan will continue to be our trusted partner in our endeavor to realize Prime Minister Sheikh Hashina’s “Vision 2021”.
Advisor to the Hon’ble Prime Minister, H. E. Mr. Salman Rahman, Hon’ble State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resource, H.E. Nasrul Hamid, Hon’ble State Minister for Cultural Affairs, H.E. KM Khalid, and other dignitaries including government officials, representatives of diplomatic missions or international organizations shared the joy to celebrate the opening of the new Imperial Era, ‘Reiwa’, meaning ‘Beautiful Harmony’.
In his speech, Ambassador Izumi expressed his respect and appreciation for the abdicated Emperor Emeritus Akihito, thanking him for his compassion. Also, Ambassador Izumi wished all happiness and prosperity in the new era of ‘Beautiful Harmony’, and beyond.
Ambassador added that , The name of the new Imperial Era ‘Reiwa’ stands for ‘Beautiful Harmony’. In the address made immediately after the accession to the Imperial Throne, His majesty the Emperor Naruhito also mentioned that he sincerely prays for the happiness of the people and the further development of the nation as well as emphasizing the importance of establishing peace of the world. In the era of Reiwa, we Japanese will continue to work on creating peaceful relationships with other countries.
When we turn to the relation between Japan and Bangladesh, these coming three years will be of significant importance. The year 2021 is the 50th anniversary of the independence of Bangladesh, and the following 2022 will mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic relationship. And to commemorate these anniversaries, a number of big development projects are underway, including those three bridges of Shitalakshya, Meghna and Gumti, Jamuna Railway Bridge, Dhaka Int’l Airport 3rd Terminal, Dhaka Metro Lines and Matarbari port & power plant and so on. Japan has always been the single biggest bilateral development partner for Bangladesh. Last year, the amount of ODA, Official Development Assistance, to Bangladesh is around two hundred billion yen, which is equivalent to about 1.8 billion US dollars. This is a record, the largest ever Yen Loan support to Bangladesh for one year. I am pleased to inform you that Bangladesh is now the second largest recipient of Japan’s ODA in the world. This fact is attracting Japanese companies to Bangladesh increasingly, and now 279 Japanese companies are working in Bangladesh. I am expecting that this number will rapidly increase in the coming years. I always have this in mind that we are creating Bangladesh’s bright future together with all of you.