India, Japan, Bangladesh explore ways to boost bay of Bengal economy

India, Bangladesh and Japan have decided to explore the possibility of a trilateral to unlock potential of landlocked Northeast through the Chittagong Port and Tokyo-funded deep sea port in Bangladesh's Matarbari.

The decision was taken on Wednesday following two-days of talks between ministers from India and Bangladesh and top Japanese officials in Agartala, the capital of Tripura.

The meeting focussed on connectivity and industrial value chains, officials said.


The three countries decided to promote capacity building and soft power initiatives as India pressed Japan to increase investments in the Northeastern region over and above current projects, according to officials.

They told ET that greater involvement of Japan will pave the way for industrial value chains and a comprehensive connectivity development of Northeast India and Bangladesh. Japan is investing in the region, including in the deep sea port at Matarbari in Bangladesh, which will connect the landlocked region with the Bay of Bengal.

Asian Confluence, a Meghalaya-based think-tank that organised the meeting in collaboration with the ministry of external affairs, has in a study suggested that both the northeast and Bangladesh scale up the multi-modal connectivity, which would not only help the region to raise its competitiveness but also narrow the development gaps in the region. The study was released at the meet.