Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to visit Japan in October-November, said Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Tamotsu Shinotsuka here yesterday.

The ambassador said this at a meeting with Home Minister Sahara Khatun at her ministry, said a spokesman for the ministry.

Shinotsuka said Japan wants to extend cooperation in economic and social sectors of Bangladesh.

Saying that Japan is the largest donor of Bangladesh in South East Asia, the ambassador said a good number of high-tech Japanese companies have invested in Bangladesh.

Japanese companies also made investment in garment, leather, fertiliser and fishing sectors. Recently, a Japanese company made 30 percent investment in Rabi (former Aktel) mobile operator.

“We always encourage Japanese companies to make investment in Bangladesh,” he said,

adding, “We want to increase bilateral trade and investment.”

The ambassador noted that Japan also contributed to the construction of the Bangabandhu Bridge and the Meghna Bridge and expressed his government desire to assist the construction of the Padma Bridge.

On traffic congestion in Dhaka City, he said JAICA is conducting feasibility study on a project and steps would be taken on its recommendations.

Describing human resources as assets for Bangladesh, the ambassador stressed the need for appropriate training of the human resources, which can impact on overall development of Bangladesh.

Presently, he said, more than 1,700 Bangladeshi students are studying in Japan. The home minister requested the ambassador to increase the scholarship of Bangladeshi students.

Sahara also sought assistance to procure police vans and IT equipments from Japan.