Naveed Ahmad Khan
—The Ambassador of Japan WADA Mitsuhiro said that Japan and Pakistan celebrated the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties last year and aimed to further develop the relationship this year. He expressed these thoughts while addressing the reception ceremony held in honor of the Journalists at his residence. The core team of the Japanese Embassy Mr.ITO Takeshi Deputy Head of Mission, JICA’s Chief Representative, Mr. Yasumitsu Kinoshita, Tadayoshi Hiraki, Commercial Attaché, Kazumasa TAKANEM, Counsellor, Head Culture & Public Information Section, KAWAMURA Kenta, Economic & Development Councilor, SHINOHARA Nobukuni, First Secretary, Chief Political Affairs and others dignities were also present on the reception and welcomed to participating journalists.
The Ambassador extended warm greetings to journalists and said “I hope tonight will be an opportunity to further deepen your understanding of Japan and Japan-Pakistan relations. My staff from the Political, Economic & Development, and Public Affairs Sections are waiting to talk with you. He thanked JICA’s Chief Representative, Mr. Kinoshita, and Mr. Kinoshita for joining the reception party.
He further said that last summer, Pakistan experienced the largest flood in its history. At that testing time, Prime Minister Kishida sent a message to the Pakistani government that “Japan will always be with Pakistan and will spare no effort to provide the necessary support for the earliest possible recovery of the affected areas”. He informed that “In January, Japan pledged approximately 77 Million US dollars in assistance for the recovery from the flood damage, more than half of which has already been disbursed. As part of this pledge, a grant aid project was signed last month. This is a project to rebuild 9 schools or 44 classrooms in Sindh Province. JICA and the Government of Sindh are being prepared for implementation”.
He said historically, Japan has been providing development assistance to Pakistan since 1954 and would continue its ODA cooperation with Pakistan next year. He said for any information regarding this matter Mr. Kinoshita and the staff of the Economic & Development Section would remain available to address queries. He also mentioned the Foreign Minister’s visit to Japan in July. He said I also attended the meeting between the two Ministers in Tokyo and saw them having an open and frank exchange of views.
The Ambassador said Pakistan is heading toward general elections, and we have a new Foreign Minister, Ms. Yoko Kamikawa. Sherecently visited Palestine and Israel to discuss the situation especially how to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.Between the governments of Japan and Pakistan, we have several high-level consultation frameworks including Foreign Secretary Level Political Dialogue, which was held in June. In the coming year and beyond, we will make use of the frameworks to improve further bilateral relations.
While talking business relations he added that in September, he visited Sialkot with Japanese companies in order to explore further strengthening business ties. He said I learnedduring the visit that Japan’s artificial leather, stainless steel, and other materials make it possible to produce high-quality soccer balls, surgical instruments, and sportswear for export to the rest of the world. He informed that more than 80 Japanese companies are doing business in Pakistan and created over 80,000 job opportunities. They have shared and transferred their knowledge, technologies, and experiences while local partners have facilitated the Japanese business people in all phases of the business cycle as “DareenahDost.”
He said businesses are currently facing a difficult time amid the current economic situation in Pakistan. He vowed to make all-out efforts to ensure that the business relationship between the two countries does not suffer any setbacks.
Japan’s ambassador said cultural and people-to-people exchanges are the foundation of the Japan-Pakistan relationship. He said this year, we are holding events such as a Karate session and a Japanese film festival, as well as conducting scholarship programs as in previous years. He added I would like to mention that the Government of Japan has conferred the Imperial Decorations on Mr. Imtiaz Ahmad, former Ambassador to Japan. He trained in Japan to master the Japanese language and contributed to strengthening friendship, cultural and economic relations, and mutual understanding. Following him, Dr. Gazala Irfan, President of the Pakistan Japan Cultural Association Lahore, has also been conferred the honor for her contributions to the promotion of cultural relationships for many years.
He expressed hopes that more and more young people of Japan and Pakistan will become interested in each other’s culture and people, and will further develop bilateral relations towards the 80th, 90th, and 100th anniversaries of our relationship. He attended to the participants one-on-one and asked them to enjoy the Japanese cuisine that the Japanese chef had prepared for guests. The event concluded on high notes and participants hailed the Japanese embassy for great hospitality and top class arrangements.