Bangladesh can emerge as regional logistics, industrial hub: JETRO

Bangladesh has strong potential to emerge as a regional logistics and industrial hub linking South Asia with Southeast Asia, given its strategic location and large population, said Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) Country Representative Kazuiki Kataoka.

"Given its geographic location and population size, Bangladesh has significant potential to become a regional logistics and industrial hub connecting South Asia and Southeast Asia," he told BSS in a recent interview.

Kataoka said Japan attaches great importance to Bangladesh's potential as a future growth centre in the region and is continuing its cooperation in infrastructure and industrial development to support that potential.

He pointed to the Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt (BIG-B), a joint concept agreed by Japan and Bangladesh, which focuses on the Dhaka-Chattogram-Matarbari corridor to develop industrial and logistics networks.

He said infrastructure projects being implemented with Japanese support, including the Matarbari development and the Jamuna Railway Bridge, would contribute not only to Bangladesh's economic development but also to stronger regional connectivity.

But infrastructure alone would not be enough to turn Bangladesh into a regional hub, he said.

"It will be important not only to develop domestic infrastructure such as roads, railways, and ports, but also to pursue policy initiatives that facilitate the movement of goods and people across borders with neighbouring countries," Kataoka said.

He said stronger links between different modes of transport, more efficient logistics services and smoother cross-border movement would help Bangladesh integrate more closely with regional supply chains.