Bangladesh, Japan celebrate 50 years ties vowing to strengthen bonds

Bangladesh and Japan on Tuesday jointly celebrated their 50-year of establishing bilateral ties vowing to further strengthen the bonds of amity and cooperation.

Japanese Embassy here and Bangladesh foreign ministry organised an event this afternoon to celebrate the historic milestone of the two nation at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital, BSS reports.

Video messages of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida were played while Message of Japan-Bangladesh Parliamentary Friendship League President Taro Aso was also read out.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have issued separate goodwill video messages on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations.

Both the Prime Ministers congratulated the people of the two friendly countries on this momentous occasion. Japan officially recognized Bangladesh as an independent state on 10 February, 1972.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in her message, expressed the gratitude of the people of Bangladesh for the precious support and contributions of Japan and its people during Bangladesh’s War of Liberation.

She highlighted the historic visit of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to Japan in October 1973, which laid the foundation of a steadfast and lasting friendship between the two countries.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina mentioned the solid foundation of bilateral relations between the two countries, poised to be raised from “Comprehensive Partnership” to “Strategic Partnership” in the near future.

She acknowledged the sustained economic cooperation and support of Japan and expressed the hope that last fifty years’ enviable cooperation would remain an inspiration for the coming fifty years for mutually beneficial gains.

Bangladesh Prime Minister sought Japan’s support for an early voluntary and sustainable repatriation of forcibly displaced Rohingyas to their homeland Myanmar as Dhaka and Tokyo share common views on resolving the crisis.