In an effort to strengthen defense cooperation with Bangladesh, Japan offered Official Security Assistance (OSA) to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her visit to Tokyo last year. Additionally, the nation has proposed to establish a specialized defense pact with Bangladesh that would involve the transfer of technology and arms.
The topic is probably going to come up at the two nations’ fifth foreign secretary level meeting, which is scheduled for this Tuesday in Dhaka.
Masud Bin Momen, the foreign secretary, will represent Bangladesh in the negotiations, while Ono Keiichi, the assistant minister and ambassador for international affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will represent Japan.
The foreign ministry sources told Prothom Alo that while evaluating the choices taken during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to Tokyo will be a top priority, the discussion will cover a variety of bilateral topics.
Trade and commerce, investment, infrastructure development, connectivity, agriculture, the Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS), defense, and maritime security problems are expected to be given significant attention during the conference, according to ministry sources.
In addition, the Rohingya crisis and security concerns will be discussed in light of Myanmar’s deteriorating circumstances.
According to diplomatic sources, Japanese defense equipment manufacturers have been actively interested in selling armaments for the past few years, and representatives from a number of the East Asian nation’s corporations have previously visited Bangladesh in this capacity.
Masud Bin Momen, the foreign secretary, discussed this with Prothom Alo, saying that Japan and Bangladesh have decided to take their bilateral relations to a strategic level. One of the four nations that Japan first included in the OSA initiative last year is Bangladesh. A draft of the defense pact has already been shared by the nation with Bangladesh.
Prothom Alo was informed by a senior official who wished to remain anonymous that discussions regarding the defense pact between the two nations have taken place, but that finalization would require time.
For the past few years, Bangladesh and the US have been negotiating to execute the Acquisition Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) and the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA). Bangladesh has not yet indicated a desire to sign the GSOMIA.
Bangladesh might bring up the idea of creating a hub for regional connectivity centered on the deepwater port of Matarbari during the foreign secretaries’ meeting. If the contemporary seaport is constructed completely, it may be able to connect Bangladesh, Japan, and India for optimal use.
Several current and past diplomats stated that Japan has already concentrated on bolstering its presence in northeastern India when this issue came to their attention. Through the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan has become involved in a number of initiatives across the region. with general, Japan seeks to strengthen its economic clout with nations in South Asia. Due to investment, the nation is also interested in security.
Prior to now, Italy expressed interest in supplying Bangladesh a range of armaments and military hardware, such as fighter jets, satellites, and patrol ships.
In order to expedite the transfer of armaments, the European nation desired to negotiate a defense pact with Bangladesh. The topic was expected to become more important at the two nations’ Monday foreign secretary-level negotiations in Dhaka.
In the negotiations, Riccardo Guariglia, the Secretary General of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, represented Italy, while Masud Bin Momen headed the Bangladeshi side.
Antonio Alessandro, the ambassador of Italy, made Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina a courtesy call at Ganabhaban last month.
He informed the prime minister then that his nation is open to technology transfer, including the sale of weapons to modernize Bangladesh’s military forces. Bangladesh can also expect a second satellite from Italy.
