Islamabad, January 28, 2026: Bangladesh’s transformation from a typical South Asian economy into an East Asian–style industrial powerhouse offers important lessons for Pakistan and the wider region, renowned Japanese development economist Prof. Yamagata Tatsufumi said on Tuesday.
Delivering a special guest lecture titled “Bangladesh as an East Asian Country: Its Pattern of Industrial Development”, Prof. Yamagata highlighted that Bangladesh’s success stems from adopting a high-intensity, labor-driven industrialisation model similar to East Asia. The lecture was co-hosted by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and the Embassy of Japan, with policymakers, researchers and development practitioners joining online.
Prof. Yamagata, a former visiting fellow at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies and currently affiliated with Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan, argued that while Bangladesh is geographically part of South Asia, its development trajectory increasingly mirrors East Asian economies. He challenged the “race to the bottom” narrative that attributes Bangladesh’s export growth solely to labor exploitation, describing the ready-made garments sector instead as a gateway to diversification and broader industrial development.
Opening the session, SDPI Executive Director Dr. Abid Qaiyum Suleri said Bangladesh’s development experience is particularly relevant for Pakistan due to similarities in economic structure and natural resource endowments. He noted that Bangladesh’s strategic shift toward an East Asian development model significantly expanded its export share and boosted women’s participation in the workforce.
Dr. Suleri recalled that Pakistan and Bangladesh were once competitors in sectors such as bicycle exports, but Bangladesh has since captured a substantial share of that market. He described Prof. Yamagata’s analysis as eye-opening for South Asian economies and aligned with SDPI’s mission to promote evidence-based policymaking.
In his presentation, Prof. Yamagata said Bangladesh serves as a natural reference point for Pakistan, pointing to historical complementarities in the textile value chain. While Pakistan has strengths in upstream textile segments, he said, Bangladesh has built strong competitiveness in downstream manufacturing.
He noted that garments account for nearly 80 percent of Bangladesh’s total exports, with the country now the third-largest textile exporter to the United States after China and Vietnam. Bangladesh is also narrowing the gap with India and China in apparel exports to the European Union. He added that minimum wages in the apparel sector, after declining between 1985 and 2005, have steadily increased since then, with real wages continuing to rise through 2023.
According to Prof. Yamagata, Bangladesh’s competitiveness is rooted in its labor-abundant and land-scarce economy — a structure closer to East Asia than South Asia. This has enabled the country to excel in labor-intensive industries while gradually diversifying into new sectors. He cited the assembly of electrical appliances, exports of refrigerator and air-conditioner compressors to Europe, and expansion into transport equipment, including bicycles, shipbuilding and drone manufacturing. Bangladesh, he noted, is now the fourth-largest exporter of bicycles to Europe.
He also highlighted the growing diversity of Bangladesh’s exports to the EU, which include garments, jute and other fibers, tea and spices, pharmaceuticals, bicycles and prepared unrecorded media such as USBs and memory cards. Emerging sectors like pharmaceuticals and electronics, he said, signal gradual industrial diversification beyond garments.
During the question-and-answer session, Prof. Yamagata discussed challenges linked to Bangladesh’s upcoming graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) status, particularly for the pharmaceutical sector, which will face new regulatory and trade conditions. He also reflected on the 2013 Rana Plaza tragedy, noting that global scrutiny led to stronger labor and environmental compliance due to pressure from international brands.
He added that Bangladesh is actively preparing for LDC graduation, pointing to recent engagements with Japan, including discussions on tariff reductions under a proposed Economic Partnership Agreement. He also noted growing foreign investment interest, particularly from China, while cautioning that exports remain heavily concentrated in textiles, accounting for about 81 percent of total exports.
Speaking on the occasion, Japanese Ambassador to Pakistan Akamatsu Shuichi said Bangladesh’s industrial development offers a valuable reference for Pakistan, especially given shared challenges such as labor abundance and the need for economic diversification. He stressed that South Asian countries must create productive opportunities for their growing labor force to translate demographic trends into sustained economic growth
