'Japan wants to supply radar and other military hardware to Bangladesh'

Japanese ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki has said that a Japanese company visited Japan, following interest shown by the Bangladesh armed forces. The company wants to sell military hardware, including radars, to Bangladesh.

The ambassador made this disclosure at the DCAB talk event Tuesday morning, while discussing future cooperation between the two countries. The event was organised by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh.

When asked which Japanese company had visited Bangladesh to discuss supply of military hardware, Ambassador Ito Naoki said that representatives of Mitsubishi Electronics had come in this regard.

He said that in recent times Japan had relaxed its laws regarding the export of military equipment. Following that, Japanese companies had begun exporting military hardware to certain countries in Asia. Such processes were already underway with Vietnam, Philippines and other ASEAN countries.

Mentioning that the defence sector could be a new area of cooperation with Bangladesh, Ito Naoki said this area had opened up when Bangladesh expressed its decision to diversify its source of procuring military hardware.

"I hope that the two sides continue discussions in this regard," he added.

The event, moderated by DCAB president Rezaul Karim Lotus, was also addressed by the organisation's general secretary AKM Moin Uddin.