Japan has proposed to develop an industrial center in Bangladesh, officials said on Tuesday.
This will enable the development of a port and transport system with supply chains to India’s landlocked northeastern states and beyond to Nepal and Bhutan.
The move follows Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to India last month, which he said would provide relief to the development of the impoverished region of 300 million people.
Following Kishida’s visit, the Japanese government approved $1.27 billion in funding to Bangladesh for three infrastructure projects, including a new commercial port in the Matarbari area, which would have links with neighboring landlocked Indian states including Tripura and wider international markets.
“It could be a win-win plan for India and Bangladesh,” Japan’s ambassador to India, Hiroshi Suzuki, said on Tuesday.
He said the port is likely to be operational by 2027 and will be key to building an industrial hub connecting Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka and landlocked areas in India.
