Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Atiur Rahman has sought Japan's support for Bangladesh to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
The governor, who is now visiting Japan, made the request during a meeting with Seiji Kihara, vice minister for foreign affairs, Japan, a BB press statement said in Dhaka on Wednesday.
The RCEP is a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) scheme of the 10 ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nation) member states and its FTA partners include Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and New Zealand.
Mooted at the 2011 ASEAN Summit in Indonesia, the RCEP negotiation process was formally launched during the 2012 ASEAN Summit in Cambodia.
The objective of RCEP negotiations is to achieve a modern, comprehensive, high-quality and mutually beneficial economic
partnership agreement that will cover trade in goods, trade in services, investment, economic and technical cooperation, intellectual property, competition, dispute settlement and other issues.
Referring to Bangladesh's desire to join the RCEP, the governor said Japan's cooperation in this regard would highly be appreciated.
The Japanese vice minister appreciated BB's proactive role in resolving issues raised by Japanese investors in Bangladesh and
hopped that such steps would surely help enhance opportunity for increased Japanese investment in Bangladesh.
At another meeting with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Dr. Rahman also raised the issue of linking Bangladesh to regional and global supply chains by participating in the RCEP.
The central bank chief had also a meeting with Ichiro Tsukada, Member of the House of Councillors of Japan, who emphasized the development of infrastructure for accelerating economic development and inflow of Japanese foreign direct investment (FDIs) in Bangladesh.
At another meeting with Kurauchi, Deputy Chief Executive of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, BB governor highlighted all the recent liberalizations that the cenral bank has adopted in facilitating foreign direct and portfolio investments which were highly appreciated.
BBN/SSR/AD-19Mar14-9:45 pm (BST)
The governor is visiting Japan on invitation of the Japanese government. During the meetings, he was accompanied by Bangladesh
Ambassador to Japan Masud Bin Momen, Japan-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JBCCI) adviser Abdul Haque and deputy general manager of Bangladesh Bank Dr. Md. Habibur Rahman.
