TBM Report ||
Nippon Foundation Honorary Chair Yohei Sasakawa paid a courtesy call on State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday, September 6, 2026, highlighting a half-century of humanitarian partnership.
During the meeting, Sasakawa underscored the deep-rooted trust connecting the Japanese philanthropic body with Bangladesh, tracing their involvement back to emergency relief efforts provided for displaced refugees during Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War.
Sasakawa briefed the State Minister on the Nippon Foundation’s global campaign against leprosy spanning over four decades in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) and international NGOs, expressing strong intent to expand specialized health support for leprosy patients across Bangladesh.
He also emphasized that addressing the ongoing Rohingya crisis remains a central operational focus for the foundation in recent years.
State Minister Humaiun Kobir expressed deep appreciation for Japan’s steady humanitarian assistance to forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals currently sheltered in Bangladesh.
Kobir reiterated Bangladesh’s firm commitment to resolving the prolonged regional crisis through the safe, voluntary, dignified, and sustainable repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar’s Rakhine State alongside international partners.
