Japan Ambassador To Pakistan Commits To Further Strengthening Bilateral Ties
ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 24th Nov, 2023) Japan Ambassador to Pakistan, Mitsuhiro Wada on Thursday expressed his commitment to further developing the long-standing friendship between Japan and Pakistan through various channels.
Addressing an event exclusively arranged for Pakistani journalist friends, he highlighted that Japan and Pakistan celebrated the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations last year and have continued to develop the relationship this year.
He said Pakistan faced the largest flood in its history, prompting a message from Prime Minister Kishida assuring that Japan will spare no effort to provide the necessary support for the earliest possible recovery of the affected areas.
In January, Japan pledged approximately $77 million in assistance for flood damage recovery, with more than half already disbursed, he said.
The ambassador said, as part of this pledge, a grant aid project was signed last month to rebuild nine schools or 44 classrooms in Sindh Province, with JICA and the Government of Sindh preparing for implementation.
He said, Japan has been providing development assistance to Pakistan since 1954, and the 70th anniversary of their ODA cooperation will be celebrated next year.
The Ambassador said that the Pakistan Foreign Minister’s visit to Japan in July, where he attended a meeting in Tokyo and witnessed an open and frank exchange of views.
He said, that between the governments of Japan and Pakistan, several high-level consultation frameworks, including the Foreign Secretary Level Political Dialogue held in June, exist to move bilateral relations forward in the coming year and beyond.
Regarding business relations, the Ambassador discussed his September visit to Sialkot with Japanese companies to explore further strengthening business ties.
He expressed happiness at learning that Japan‘s artificial leather, stainless steel, and other materials enable the production of high-quality soccer balls, surgical instruments, and sportswear for export worldwide.
Currently, over 80 Japanese companies are operating in Pakistan, creating more than 80,000 jobs, he said. Despite facing challenges amid the current economic situation in Pakistan, the Ambassador pledged to ensure that the business relationship between the two countries does not suffer any setbacks.
Cultural and people-to-people exchanges were highlighted as the foundation of the Japan-Pakistan relationship, with events such as a Karate session and a Japanese film festival planned for this year.
The Ambassador mentioned that the Government of Japan conferred Imperial Decorations on Mr Imtiaz Ahmad, the former Ambassador to Japan, for his contributions to strengthening friendship, cultural and economic relations, and mutual understanding.
Dr Gazala Irfan, President of the Pakistan Japan Cultural Association Lahore, was also conferred the honour for her contributions to the promotion of cultural relationships over many years.
The Ambassador expressed hope that more young people in Japan and Pakistan will become interested in each other’s culture and people, further developing bilateral relations towards the 80th, 90th, and 100th anniversaries of their relationship.
