The new Bangladeshi ambassador to Japan, who arrived to take up his post recently, said Wednesday that he hopes to play a role in helping to bring representatives of the two countries' private sectors closer together to enable them to cooperate in a variety of fields.

Jamil Majid, who assumed his new Tokyo post in June, said that promoting such private-sector interaction is very important -- as important as government-to-government relations -- adding that Japan is the "biggest development partner" for his country in terms of grants and loans in the form of official development assistance, as well as private sector investment.

During his visit to The Japan Times, Majid said that although he is happy about the ever-increasing interest of the Japanese public in his homeland, as well as Tokyo's increasing economic cooperation with Bangladesh, he aims to further promote mutual understanding, particularly through a range of cultural exchanges.

"Today's people are too busy" to learn about other countries, but "we must learn about each other," he said.

For his first assignment to Japan, Majid read part of Murasaki Shikibu's "Tale of Genji" before arriving in Tokyo, found "Chushingura"-- a popular Kabuki and movie story of 47 samurai warriors -- very interesting and visited Sengakuji temple, near the site of his own embassy, to see the 47 heroes' graves, he said. The job of an ambassador to Japan is a very interesting one, he added.

After studying chemical engineering, Majid joined the then Pakistan Foreign Service in 1970 -- a year before Bangladesh was granted independence -- and later served in Bangladesh's missions in Ottawa, Paris, New Delhi, London and New York. He served as director general in charge of the Foreign Ministry's representation in the United Nations before coming to Tokyo.