Bangladesh and Japan on Tuesday agreed to further intensify their existing excellent ties and work towards building a strategic relationship, reports BSS.

This was discussed during the 4th Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) in Tokyo between the two countries to comprehensively discuss the bilateral relations, and regional as well as global issues.

During the meeting, Japan highly appreciated the well-planned and structured approach to development led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina through her visions-2021 and 2041.

As part of building stronger bonds, Japan suggested partnering with Bangladesh to further develop the southern Chattogram area centring the Matarbari Infrastructure Development Initiative (MIDI) project in the context of connectivity.

Both sides agreed that these projects, being built under Japan's Big-B initiative, have potential to benefit not only Bangladesh but also the entire region.

They also discussed issues of bilateral relations in the areas of trade, investment, agriculture, especially ICT and high-tech industries, blue economy, health, human resource development, capacity development in maritime security, disaster management and defence cooperation.

Bangladesh Ambassador in Tokyo Shahabuddin Ahmed and foreign ministry's senior officials also attended the meeting.

Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul