DHAKA, Dec 27, 2023 (BSS) - Bangladesh will complete the  signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with  Japan, the world’s 3rd largest economy, by December 2025 to
strengthen bilateral economic relations alongside availing  duty-free market facilities to that country.

“Both the countries are also committed to sign the EPA within  this timeframe,” said Commerce Ministry Senior Secretary Tapan  Kanti Ghosh at a press conference held at the Ministry of
Commerce at Bangladesh Secretariat today.

The joint press conference was organized to mark the release  of the Joint Study Group report on the proposed Economic  Partnership Agreement (EPA) between Bangladesh and Japan.

Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh IWAMA Kiminori spoke at the  press conference.

Terming Japan as the world's third largest economy and an  important trade partner of Bangladesh, the Senior Commerce  Secretary said, “For the first time, we’re going to sign such
an economic agreement with a large economy. If the EPA is  signed with Japan, we’ll not only get duty-free market  facilities, but also get foreign investment, infrastructures
suitable for industries and thus could join the global supply  chain.”

Regarding the final signing of the EPA with Japan, he said, “I  don't see any complications regarding the signing of the EPA.

We’re very much optimistic. Since we’ll graduate from the LDCs  in 2026, the EPA will be signed by December 2025 or January  2026.”

Tapan said since Japan has FTAs with many countries and has  investments in many countries, the EPA will create new  opportunities for Bangladesh to join the global supply chain.

He said Bangladesh has been enjoying duty-free facilities for  exporting products to Japan and would continue to enjoy it  till 2026.

“In the last year, our export growth to Japan was 45 percent,  which was higher than any developed country.

Apart from goods,  there is a potential to develop Bangladesh's relations with
Japan in the services and investment sectors,” he said  expressing high hope that if the EPA is signed, it would be  possible to transform that possibility into a reality.

Tapan mentioned that during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's  visit to Japan in April this year, it was decided to upgrade  the bilateral relations between the two countries as
'Strategic Partnership'.

In view of this, MoU was signed as a step to enhance trade,  investment and economic cooperation between the two countries.
 
Later, another MoU was signed when the Minister of Commerce of
Japan visited Bangladesh.

The Commerce Secretary said that the publication of the joint study group report does not mean that the work of the EPA is  over.

 The two countries announced to conduct a joint feasibility study aimed at finalizing the EPA and thus a report was released today after three rounds of meetings.

In response to a question, Ambassador of Japan IWAMA Kiminori said that the EPA would create a win-win situation for both Bangladesh and Japan for trade expansion and economic
development.

“We hope that EPA will play an important role in the  development of an investment-friendly environment in Bangladesh in addition to boosting trade and investment,” he
added.

The Japanese Ambassador also said that both the countries are  preparing for signing of the EPA. “As Bangladesh will graduate  from the LDCs in 2026, signing of the EPA should be completed before this,” he added.

It should be noted that both the countries have jointly  identified 17 sectors as areas of economic cooperation for the purpose of implementing the proposed EPA.