Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has expressed deep gratitude to Bangladesh at the withdrawal of its candidature for a non-permanent membership of UN Security Council in favour of Japan.
Recalling the warm hospitality of Bangladesh government during his recent visit to Bangladesh, Abe said during his recent visit he had a firsthand experience of feeling the energy of Bangladesh people.
The Japanese Prime Minister made the remark when Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury met him in Tokyo, said a Foreign Ministry media release on Saturday.
The Speaker is now in Tokyo on a three-day official visit to attend the ‘World Assembly for Women (WAW): Tokyo 2014’at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister.
Dr Shirin appreciated Prime Minister Abe for his active interest and commitment to promoting women’s empowerment globally.
She also praised the Japanese PM for his vision of increasing the percentage of women in leadership positions in Japanese society to 30 percent by 2020.
The Speaker mentioned that WAW could be a unique platform for raising women’s voice throughout the globe and Prime Minister Abe would be an icon for the campaign of women empowerment.
She also attended ‘WAW Open Forum’ at Japan Business Federation where Prime Minister Abe made the opening remarks, while Managing Director of IMF Christine Lagarde the keynote speech.
In the evening, Dr Shirin joined the WAW reception hosted by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Akie Abe.
On the first day of her visit, she had a meeting with Speaker of the Lower House of Japanese Diet Bunmei Ibuki.
The two Speakers welcomed the ‘Comprehensive Partnership’ between Bangladesh and Japan recently launched by the two Prime Ministers.
Ibuki also expressed gratitude for Bangladesh’s withdrawal of candidature for non-permanent membership of UN Security Council in support of Japan.
Dr Shirin noted the special responsibilities of parliamentarians in developing people-to-people contact between the two countries. The Speaker also met the President of the Upper House of Diet Masaki Yamazaki at his office.
Yamazaki appreciated the outstanding achievement of Bangladesh in women empowerment and gender equality.
Dr Shirin said Bangladesh-Japan relationship has been elevated to a new height by the exchange of High Level bilateral visits including recent visits of the two Prime Ministers.
