Dhaka Bureau: Japan’s friendly country does not want to comment on the Bangladesh election, said Iwama Kiminori, the country’s ambassador in Dhaka.
He said this in response to a question about the election during the briefing on the Prime Minister’s visit to Japan at the embassy in Dhaka on Wednesday (May 3).
At this time, the ambassador expressed satisfaction over the meeting held between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo.
During the briefing, Ambassador Iwama Kiminori avoided questions from journalists about the election and said that he did not want to comment on the internal affairs of Bangladesh.
Referring to the meeting between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the Japanese Prime Minister at the briefing, the ambassador said that the two countries are focusing on a ‘very comprehensive and goal-oriented’ partnership. Our relationship has evolved from a broad partnership to a strategic partnership. Strategic partnership means more than just political and security issues.
At this time, Japan wants to increase cooperation in the defense sector of Bangladesh, he said, and talks are going on with the government regarding the sale of defense equipment.
Note that Japan is one of Bangladesh’s biggest development partners. In addition to the country’s large metro rail project, Japan has been partnering in several large projects, including the Arai Hajar Economic Zone and Matarbari. However, the explosive comments of the Japanese ambassador to Dhaka, Ito Naoki, about Bangladesh elections last year created discussion.
The day after that incident, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam referred to the issue as a “violation of diplomatic etiquette” and dishonest activities and said, “Japanese Ambassador Ito Naoki’s statement on the 11th National Parliament election is undesirable.”
