ZIA VISIT: JAPAN WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT BANGLADESH

Today is scheduled to be the final day of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia’s four-day visit to Japan. The Japanese press has been ignoring the visit, but thankfully the English press in Bangladesh has been covering the story reasonably well.

Prime Minister Zia’s delegation is 38 members strong, including 24 business representatives hoping to tighten economic relations with Japan. This is PM Zia’s second visit to Japan, the first having been in 1994 when she served her first stint as Prime Minister. For the past few days, she and her delegation have been staying at the Hotel Imperial in Tokyo and meeting with various groups of Japanese leaders.

On July 14th, PM Zia met with PM Koizumi at the Kantei and held talks lasting over an hour. The Japanese side assured Bangladesh of its support for economic development and continued supplies of ODA. For her part, PM Zia expressed her appreciation and also agreed to support Japan’s candidacy as a permanent member of the UNSC. However, on this issue Bangladesh has in fact taken a line similar to the United States: they support Japan’s candidacy, but will not support the G-4 proposals that form the actual heart of the Japanese strategy to gain admission.

One large project that Japan will support through JICA is Bangladesh’s Padma Bridge project, which is intended to provide a direct connection between central Bangladesh and the underdeveloped southwestern portion of the country. Japan has a history of helping Bangladesh build bridges in the country, and, in fact, the back side of the 100 Taka currency note in Bangladesh features a picture of the Jamuna Bridge, the largest bridge in Bangladesh that was built with Japanese assistance.

Early in the visit PM Zia met with the representatives of the Japan-Bangladesh Parliamentary Friendship League (President: Shin Sakurai), and expressed thanks for Japan’s recent forgiveness of some portion of Bangladeshi national debt. This meeting, held at the Akasaka Prince Hotel, featured PM Zia’s invitation to Japanese leaders to come to Bangladesh and see for themselves what Japanese aid has made possible.

There has also been reference to some event that I’m not familiar with. Apparently, Japan made serious efforts to help Bangladesh immediately after its war of independence in 1971. Referring to this, the Financial Times newspaper of Dhaka wrote: “Japan is such a tested friend of Bangladesh. People of Bangladesh still remember with gratitude the sympathy and help the Japanese society, its government and even its schoolchildren, extended towards the war-ravaged country during and immediately after the War of Liberation. That relationship of mutual trust and understanding between the two peoples of Bangladesh and Japan is still as strong as ever.” The key role of a Japanese diplomat named Hayakawa was specifically mentioned. This reference is something worth studying in the future.

As for business relations between Japan and Bangladesh, PM Zia called for a strategic partnership between the two countries.

The one hint of controversy regarding this visit came from a Kyodo News report that said that a group of indigenous people in Bangladesh called on Japan to end its ODA because of human rights violations by the Bangladeshi government. The English-language press in Bangladesh didn’t refer to this directly, but did make reference to “some identified persons with ill motives and making false allegations” and “a vested quarter carrying out false propaganda at home and abroad to put the country and its people into trouble.” In Tokyo, PM Zia responded by calling on Bangladeshis living in Japan to maintain a positive image for the country through their words and deeds.