He noted that Bangladesh’s strategic shift towards an East Asian development model helped expand its export share and significantly increase women’s participation in the workforce. He described the Japanese expert’s perspective on Bangladesh’s economic transformation as eye-opening for South Asian countries and in line with SDPI’s mandate to promote evidence-based policymaking. In his lecture, Prof. Yamagata argued that while Bangladesh is geographically a South Asian country, its development pattern increasingly resembles that of East Asia. Prof. Yamagata explained that Bangladesh’s competitiveness stems from being a labor-abundant and land-scarce economy, a characteristic closer to East Asia than South Asia. He stressed that South Asian countries must create opportunities to productively absorb their growing labor force and translate demographic trends into sustained economic growth.

Source: The Patriot January 28, 2026 15:54 UTC