Bangladesh and Japan have signed six bilateral cooperation instruments and pledged two yen-loan projects worth about US$295.5 million during Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s four-day official visit to Japan, expanding cooperation in maritime security, investment, agriculture, fisheries, skills development and climate change.

The agreements and pledges form part of the outcomes of the prime minister’s visit from October 26 to 29 at the invitation of his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi, said Deputy Press Secretary Shahadat Shadhin.

The six signed instruments include a grant agreement worth up to 2.12 billion Japanese yen (US$13.44 million) for providing a patrol vessel to Bangladesh to strengthen its maritime security capabilities.

The other instruments cover economic relations and improvement of the business environment, agricultural cooperation, employment and skills development, fisheries and livestock, and climate change cooperation.

The two governments also pledged yen loans of 15.88 billion yen (US$100.8 million) for improving the investment environment and 30.68 billion yen (US$194.7 million) for the second phase of the Upazila Governance and Development Project.

The two loan pledges together amount to 46.56 billion yen, equivalent to approximately US$295.5 million.

Under the maritime security grant, Japan will provide a patrol vessel to the Bangladesh Coast Guard to strengthen its capacity to combat maritime crimes and respond to maritime incidents and natural disasters.

The memorandum of cooperation on economic relations and improvement of the business environment was signed between Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Bangladesh’s Economic Relations Division under the Ministry of Finance.

The instrument aims to strengthen bilateral economic relations and improve conditions for business and investment.

The agricultural cooperation instrument, signed between Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and Bangladesh’s Ministry of Agriculture, seeks to expand cooperation and attract investment in the agricultural sector.

A separate memorandum between the Japanese ministry and Bangladesh’s Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock aims to promote trade, investment, technological exchange and capacity building in fisheries and livestock.

The climate change cooperation letter of intent was signed between Japan’s Ministry of the Environment and Bangladesh’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

The employment and skills development instrument seeks to strengthen cooperation in skills development and employment opportunities for Bangladeshi workers in Japan.

The pledged yen loan for improving the investment environment is expected to support efforts to create more favourable conditions for domestic and foreign investors.

The second loan pledge will support the second phase of the Upazila Governance and Development Project, which aims to strengthen local governance and development at the upazila level.

The instruments complement broader agreements reached during the bilateral summit between Tarique Rahman and Takaichi at the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office on October 27.

At the summit, the two leaders agreed to upgrade the Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt (BIG-B) initiative into a broader strategic cooperation framework titled “BIG-B for Shared Prosperity”.

During the visit, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman also held meetings with Japanese political leaders, business representatives and development partners to explore further investment, technology transfer, skills development and economic cooperation.

The visit is scheduled to conclude on October 29.