Online Desk: Bangladesh will be benefited if Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) is signed between Bangladesh and Japan, said Secretary to the Commerce Ministry Tapan Kanti Ghosh on Wednesday.

He said this while speaking at a joint press conference regarding the report of the Joint Study Group on the signing of the proposed Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the two countries at the conference room of the Ministry of Commerce.

Japanese Ambassador IWAMA Kiminori also spoke at the press conference.

The commerce secretary said Japan is the third largest economy in the world and an important trading partner of Bangladesh. Apart from goods, Bangladesh’s relations with Japan are also likely to improve in the services and investment sectors, he said.

“We have been enjoying duty-free access of goods to Japan and we will get it till 2026. Last year, exports to Japan grew by 45 percent, faster than any developed country,” he added.

The secretary also said that if signing of the agreement between the two countries might accelerate the Japanese investment in Bangladesh and infrastructural development as well.

He hoped that the Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries will be signed by December 2025 or January 2026.

Ghosh said the two countries decided to upgrade the bilateral relations to a strategic partnership during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to Japan in April this year.

In this context, the MoU was signed as a step to increase trade, investment and economic cooperation between the two countries. Later, another MoU was signed during the visit of the Japanese Commerce Minister to Bangladesh.

Senior officials of the Ministry of Commerce and a Japanese delegation were present at the press conference.

It is to be noted that both countries identified 17 sectors as scope and coverage to implement the proposed EPA.

The report is finalized through the participation and involvement of government, private, academia and business representatives. The full report can be found on the website of the Ministry of Commerce (www.mincom.gov.bd).