Staff Reporter:
Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, Bir Bikram, yesterday called upon Japan to enhance cooperation in recruiting skilled manpower from Bangladesh, highlighting the country’s growing pool of trained workers.
The call came when Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh SAIDA Shinichi paid a courtesy call on Speak-er of the Jatiya Sangsad at the Speaker’s office in the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.
During the meeting, the Speaker expressed gratitude to Japan for its long-standing friendship and con-tinued investments in various sectors of Bangladesh. He particularly appreciated Japan’s unconditional support for Bangladesh’s communication infrastructure and economic development, said a press release.
The Speaker also recalled with respect that Japan was among the first industrialized nations to recognize Bangladesh following its victory in the 1971 War of Liberation.
Referring to the expanding bilateral relations, he sought Japan’s support in creating greater employment opportunities for skilled Bangladeshi workers in the Japanese labour market.
Ambassador SAIDA Shinichi said the strong Bangladesh-Japan relationship is rooted in the mutual sin-cerity and goodwill shared by the people of the two countries.
He noted that the Japanese government attaches the highest importance to the Bangladesh-Japan Strate-gic Partnership, economic cooperation, increased investment, trade expansion and Bangladesh’s infra-structure development.
The ambassador further said that international observer teams, including those from the United Nations and Japan, had reported that the February 12 national election was widely accepted, neutral, free and fair.
He informed the Speaker that the return of political stability and democratic continuity following the election had accelerated the implementation of Japan’s ongoing development activities in Bangladesh.
The ambassador also congratulated Hafiz Uddin Ahmad on his election as Speaker of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad.
Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat Secretary Barrister Md Golam Sarwar Bhuiyan and Second Secretary of the Embassy of Japan Nishi Yuki were present at the meeting.
