Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina soughtJICA’s assistance for more Japanese investments in Bangladesh when the agency's president, Shinichi Kitaoka, paid a courtesy call on her in Tokyo.
“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has sought JICA’s help in arranging more Japanese investments for Bangladesh,” PM’s Speech Writer (secretary) Md Nazrul Islam briefed the media after the meeting on Thursday, reports BSS.
Hasina also requested Japanese investors to invest more after exploring the new areas of investments in Bangladesh, he said quoting the prime minister.
Describing Japan as one of the closest friends of Bangladesh since independence, Hasina said: “Japan helped us a lot to reorganize the war-ravaged country after the Liberation War of 1971.”
She called upon JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) to set up a training centre in Bangladesh to train the young generation to make them skilled and efficient.
The JICA chief expressed his desire to work for development of human resources through exchanging experience and knowledge.
The prime minister informed the JICA president that Bangladesh is now moving towards mechanization of agriculture as part of a move to go for industrialization through agriculture, like Japan, Nazrul Islam quoted Hasina as saying.
In this context, she described Japan as a role model.
The Bangladesh PM stressed the need for working together by developed, developing and least developed countries of Asia to dominate the world.
Sheikh Hasina also recalled the deaths of Japanese citizens in the terror attack in Dhaka in 2016, and expressed her sorrow and sympathy to this end.
Shinichi Kitaoka congratulated Sheikh Hasina on her re-election for a third consecutive term.
Describing the bilateral talks held between the prime ministers of Bangladesh and Japan as fruitful, the JICA president said they will now work more closely with Bangladesh.
He added that they will further strengthen the study program with Bangladesh.
Among others, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Shahriar Alam, PM’s Principal Secretary Md Nojibur Rahman, PM’s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman, Principal Coordinator of SDG Affairs Md Abul Kalam Azad, Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque, and Ambassador of Bangladesh to Japan Rabab Fatima were present on the occasion.
