Japan will provide 329 million US dollars (equivalent to 35 billion yen) to Bangladesh as grant to help the country combat coronavirus. “Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made this announcement when he talked to his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina over phone this afternoon,” PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim told BSS. The Japanese premier informed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that their parliament has already approved the grant, the press secretary said. During the nearly 25-minute telephonic talk that began around 1:05pm, the two premiers discussed issues related to the pandemic, bilateral economic cooperation and the projects being implemented with Japanese assistance. Karim said the Bangladesh PM sought more investment from Japan to further bolster economic ties. She also put emphasis on further strengthening bilateral cooperation. As Sheikh Hasina apprised Shinzo Abe of the current Rohingya situation, the Japanese premier said that he would talk to the Myanmar leadership to solve the protracted Rohingya crisis, the press secretary said. Sheikh Hasina thanked Shinzo Abe for providing protective equipment like PPE, masks and goggles to Bangladesh to contain the transmission of Covid-19. The Bangladesh prime minister hoped that the 2020 Summer Olympics, which was scheduled to be organised this year in Tokyo but was postponed due to pandemic, will be held in 2021 in Japan on time.
