PM’S Japan tour: Tokyo may push for re-inclusion of India in BIG-B

Japan is expected to push for India’s re-inclusion in its Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt (BIG-B) initiative during Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s upcoming visit to Tokyo, in keeping with its broader vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP), said foreign ministry officials.

Bangladesh-India ties have entered a rough patch following the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, 2024, a development that has affected Tokyo’s strategic calculations in the region and complicated efforts to advance the initiative.

BIG-B is an important part of Japan’s regional connectivity vision, with India playing a significant role.

“Japan has invested heavily in Northeast India. India, too, continues to engage with Bangladesh on cross-border connectivity projects aimed at facilitating the movement of goods between its northeastern states and the mainland. Both countries have an interest in connectivity that leads to the Bay of Bengal,” said one of the officials.

Dhaka and Tokyo have kept the door open for India to join the initiative when circumstances become favourable.

“Now that the political situation has changed, Japan wants to revive its strategic vision for the region. BIG-B will feature in the upcoming highest-level talks,” the official added.

As of February 2024, Japan had provided approximately 385 billion yen in development assistance to Northeast India, much of it for infrastructure and connectivity projects, according to the Embassy of Japan in India.

During a visit to India in 2023, then Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed hope that Japan would work with Bangladesh and India to promote regional prosperity, harnessing the potential of the Bay of Bengal to make the region more stable and prosperous.

In December 2024, Japan’s then ambassador to Bangladesh, Iwama Kiminori, said connectivity in the Bay of Bengal was essential to Japan’s FOIP vision.

Speaking at an event in Dhaka, he said the Matarbari deep-sea port was being developed not only for bilateral use but also to connect Bangladesh with regional and global supply chains.

Trust and understanding between Bangladesh and India were crucial to achieving economic prosperity through regional connectivity, he said.

Relations between Bangladesh and Japan experienced some strain during the interim government’s tenure, according to foreign ministry officials.

Japan’s ambassador to Bangladesh, Saida Shinichi, sought meetings with Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on several occasions but was unable to secure an appointment during much of the interim administration’s tenure, they said.

Saida took charge on January 10, 2025 and made a courtesy call on Yunus two days later.

Meanwhile, it remains uncertain whether Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman will accompany Tarique on the Japan visit, scheduled from October 26 to 29.

Asked at a press conference on Tuesday whether the foreign minister would accompany Tarique, Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam said: “If his schedule matches, he will join.”

Khalilur served as the interim government’s high representative for the Rohingya crisis and national security adviser.

During the visit, the two countries are expected to elevate their existing strategic partnership to a comprehensive strategic partnership (CSP), The Daily Star has learnt from officials involved with the proceedings.

A CSP represents a higher and broader tier in Japan’s diplomatic framework than a standard Strategic Partnership and encompasses a deeply multi-layered, expansive network of cooperation across almost all sectors.

At present, Japan maintains CSPs with ASEAN, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Laos to advance security, economic resilience, and a free and open Indo-Pacific.

In an announcement on Tuesday, Japan’s foreign ministry said the visit is expected to strengthen bilateral ties and enhance coordination towards realising an updated FOIP.

Japan launched BIG-B in 2014 to promote industrial development and connectivity around the Bay of Bengal. The initiative was initially focused on the Dhaka-Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar corridor.

In 2023, Japan proposed a broader Bay of Bengal–Northeast India Industrial Value Chain Initiative to strengthen economic links between Bangladesh and northeastern India.

BIG-B rests on three pillars: industry and trade, energy, and transportation. It aims to encourage Japanese investment, support industrialisation and improve connectivity, linking production centres with regional and global markets through infrastructure such as the Matarbari deep-sea port.

Asked about Japan’s proposal to develop Matarbari as a subregional hub at the press conference, Siam said Bangladesh’s economic development goals were closely linked to port infrastructure.

“The ports should be ready to handle and enhance capacity for our future imports and exports. That is how the Matarbari project has emerged. If the port can handle more after meeting our demands, then we will think about it,” he said.