PM Tarique Rahman attends dinner hosted by Nippon Foundation honorary chairman

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman attended a dinner hosted by Yohei Sasakawa, honorary chairman of the Nippon Foundation and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, in Tokyo today (26 October), where they discussed potential cooperation in vaccine production and recalled the foundation’s contributions to Bangladesh.

The dinner was held at Hanagasumi Restaurant at Meiji Kinenkan in the Japanese capital, according to a press release from the prime minister’s press wing.

The prime minister’s wife, Dr Zubaida Rahman, Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat, and the prime minister’s adviser on finance and planning, Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, attended the event.

Foreign Affairs State Minister Humaiun Kobir, Power, Energy and Mineral Resources State Minister Anindya Islam Amit, the prime minister’s special assistant for overseas employment in the Asia-Pacific region, Dr Md Shakirul Islam Khan, and Protocol Officer-2 Kamrul Islam were also present.

Nippon Foundation Executive Director Takashi Arikawa and senior officials of the organisation attended the dinner as well.

During the event, Tarique recalled his meeting with Sasakawa in Dhaka in September and thanked him for his longstanding contributions to Bangladesh in humanitarian assistance, education and public health.

They also discussed possible cooperation in establishing a vaccine manufacturing facility in Bangladesh to help control infectious diseases, the press release said.

Sasakawa met the prime minister during his visit to Bangladesh in September.