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Bangladesh has taken an initiative to manufacture its own brand of motor vehicles, industries minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun said on Monday.
The state-owned Pragoti Industries Limited will produce automobiles with technical assistance from the Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan, he said.
"We will manufacture our own brand of motor cars with Japanese technical assistance. We will soon finalise the Automobile Industry Development Policy 2020 to pave the way for receiving the technical assistance," he told the media after a meeting with Japanese ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki at his ministry.
Referring to Bangladesh's historically friendly relations with Japan, the minister said Japan has been contributing to the socio-economic and industrial development of the country.
At the meeting, Mr Humayun called upon the Japanese investors to invest in agro-processing industry and help develop the country's light engineering sector and modernise years-old sugar mills.
Japanese envoy Ito Naoki said that the automobile industries of Japan, including the Mitsubishi Corporation, have expressed keen interest in investing in Bangladesh considering its investment-friendly policy.
He also lauded the government steps to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country.
He assured the industries minister of providing technical assistance for the production of motor vehicles in Bangladesh.
For the development of the motorcycle industry in Bangladesh, the envoy suggested rationalisation of the motorcycle registration fees.
He also said the proposal of the industry ministry to modernise state-owned sugar mills would be considered.
Ito Naoki said the Japanese Economic Zone at Araihazar in Narayanganj is considered the best in Asia in terms of quality of standards.
He suggested holding more bilateral dialogues between the two friendly countries to attract more Japanese investment in Bangladesh.
The meeting also discussed Japanese investment in the country's different industrial sectors.
Besides, issues such as National Industrial Policy 2021, Japanese technical assistance in preparing industrial database, development and modernisation of motorcycle industry, setting-up of an Automobile Testing and Research Institute and Industrial University with the Japanese technical co-operation figured prominently in the discussion.