Regarding the recall of the Ambassador from Tokyo to Dhaka ahead of Prime Minister Tareque Rahman’s visit to Japan, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaid Islam stated that the decision was entirely the Foreign Ministry’s own. At the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Tareque Rahman is scheduled to visit Tokyo from October 26 to 29. Ambassador Md. Daud Ali was summoned to the headquarters in connection with preparations for this visit.

On Saturday (October 23), following a dialogue held at the Cirdap Auditorium on Topkhana Road in the capital, journalists asked the State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shama Obaid, about this development.

In response, she said, “Deciding when to summon an ambassador to the Foreign Ministry is a matter entirely at the Ministry’s own discretion. It is an internal affair of the Foreign Ministry—not a national or international issue. It is a standard procedure.”

Regarding the Prime Minister’s visit to Japan, the State Minister remarked, “We consider Japan one of Bangladesh’s primary trade and development partners. Our relationship dates back to the time of the Great Liberation War and has only deepened since then. Bangladesh-Japan relations also saw significant improvement during the tenures of the BNP government.”

Emphasizing the high importance of Prime Minister Tareque Rahman’s upcoming visit, Shama Obaid noted that there are significant opportunities for cooperation with Japan across various sectors, including infrastructure, energy, technology, and the ready-made garment industry. Potential for collaboration also exists in the education and health sectors. “We anticipate that new avenues for cooperation with Japan will emerge in these areas,” she added.

Highlighting the potential for increased Japanese investment, she stated, “We believe this visit by the Prime Minister will pave the way for new Japanese investment. Initiatives have been launched to attract fresh investment to Bangladesh. Efforts to secure further Japanese investment—facilitated through ‘Bangladesh Invest’—will also be a focus of this visit. We are hopeful that the visit will prove even more successful than we anticipate.” Ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31), scheduled to be held in Antalya, Turkey, from November 9 to 20, a dialogue was organized at the CIRDAP auditorium—spearheaded by 33 civil society and development organizations from Bangladesh—to unveil a national position paper.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaied expressed a firm commitment to positioning Bangladesh as a leader in addressing climate change—moving beyond mere negotiations for funding toward driving qualitative, transformative change.