Description

This article explores the evolving relationship between Japan and Bangladesh, emphasising the challenges and opportunities in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and improving investor services at the institutional level in Bangladesh. The objective is to catalyse transformative aspects in Bangladesh’s socio-economic landscape, including job creation, improved productivity, institutional capacity building, infrastructure expansion, and sustainable development. Creating investment opportunities in Bangladesh can play a pivotal role in inclusive economic growth. The article addresses the challenges associated with bilateral cooperation, particularly in negotiating an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and pointing out the main obstacles to Japanese investment in Bangladesh. These obstacles include the lack of coordination with other government bodies, bureaucratic inefficiency, and complicated regulatory frameworks. Notwithstanding these obstacles, there are noteworthy prospects to augment FDI inflows from Japan. The economic partnership between Japan and Bangladesh is portrayed as dynamically evolving, with promising prospects for comprehensive development. It underscores the critical role of FDI in realising strategic objectives to accelerate sustainable economic growth for Bangladesh, particularly following its anticipated graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) status by 2026 and its aspirations to achieve developed nation status by 2041. Through an analysis of challenges and opportunities for Japanese investment, the article also examines the Bangladesh government’s policy reforms to simplify laws, ensure transparency, and set up accountability systems inside government organisations and investor services along with aftercare aimed at fostering an investment-friendly climate while addressing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

Keywords: Japan-Bangladesh Relations, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Bureaucratic Inefficiency, Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).