State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Tsuge Yoshifumi paid a courtesy call on Ambassador Shahabuddin Ahmed at the Bangladesh Embassy in Tokyo today.
Ambassador Shahabuddin Ahmed and his wife Shahina Akthar and the embassy officials welcomed State Minister Yoshifumi at the Bangladesh Embassy in the afternoon.
During the meeting, State Minister Tsuge Yoshifumi expressed his gratitude to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government for expressing condolences and solidarity with the Japanese government and people over the recent earthquake in Japan.
Ambassador Shahabuddin Ahmed congratulated Tsuge Yoshifumi on his recent appointment as State Minister for Foreign Affairs during Japan's cabinet reshuffle.
The Ambassador mentioned Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to Japan on different occasions to improve the relationship between the two countries and said that Bangladesh-Japan relations have been upgraded to strategic partnership through the Prime Minister's visit to Japan in April last year. He sought the cooperation of State Minister Yoshifumi in implementing the joint declaration on strategic partnership signed by the Prime Ministers of the two countries.
The Ambassador said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has expressed deep grief over the recent earthquake in Japan and Bangladesh is ready to offer all possible cooperation to deal with this crisis.
Ambassador Shahabuddin Ahmed thanked Japan for its continued cooperation in resolving the Rohingya issue. He requested Japan to play a more proactive role in solving this problem and in the speedy, dignified, and safe repatriation of the Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Myanmar.]
The Ambassador expressed his determination to work together to strengthen bilateral relations with Japan and continue the development and progress of Bangladesh during the tenure of the new government formed after the recent parliamentary elections in Bangladesh. Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and officials of the Bangladesh Embassy were present during the meeting.
