The seminar titled 'Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCVs) in Bangladesh' was held at the conference room of the deputy commissioner in Sylhet.

It was organised jointly by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the Ministry of Finance.

Divisional Commissioner Aziz Hasan attended the seminar as chief guest while Additional District Magistrate Mamun Ur Rashid chaired the session.

The purpose of the seminar was to share and disseminate information about the activities of JOCVs in Sylhet region.

JICA officials at the seminar said a total of 968 Japanese volunteers have been serving in different fields like health, agriculture, education, engineering and sports in Bangladesh since 1973.

Presently, 51 volunteers and 3 senior volunteers are working with different institutions and organisations in Bangladesh, they added.

The speakers said JICA recruits young men and women who want to contribute to the development of other countries and train them with required skills before dispatching them as JOCVs.

These skilled persons provide on the spot help in developing countries for their socio-economic as well as human resource development, they added.

The speakers said the activities of the volunteers are not only aimed at transferring technology but also developing person-to-person friendly relations at the grassroots level.

JICA's Assistant Director Kazi Abul Mamun spoke about its technical cooperation in Bangladesh and the activities of JOCVs.

Besides, volunteers Takashi Tamura, Hitomi Urushihata, Keiji Ichikawa and Mamoru Hazawa narrated their experiences that they had gathered while working in different sectors.

District level officials from different government departments including administration, education, public health engineering, health and family planning, and youth development attended the seminar.