REFAYET ULLAH MIRDHA

Bangladesh and Japan may sign the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) within the next one to two months as the final negotiation is scheduled to end in Tokyo tomorrow.

A team from Bangladesh is now in Tokyo and engaged in the final round of negotiations for signing the EPA with Japan, Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman told The Daily Star over the phone.

Rahman was supposed to be in Tokyo, but he came back from the airport because of illness.

However, he attended the negotiation virtually.

So, it is expected that both countries will sign the EPA within the next one to two months, the secretary added.

In March last year, Dhaka began talks for signing the EPA, mainly to secure preferential trade benefits from Japan after Bangladesh graduates from the least developed country (LDC) category by November next year.

As per the policy of the EPA, three meetings were held in Dhaka and four in Japan. The talks include issues such as trade, investment, export, and import between the two countries.

Previously, Bangladesh signed a preferential trade agreement with Bhutan in 2020.

But no FTA has been signed so far with any country.

Japan is a key market, being the first Asian nation where Bangladesh exported over $1 billion in more than a decade, thanks to duty-free and quota-free access under its LDC status.

Bangladeshi garments, leather goods, and footwear are in high demand in the island nation.