ZUBAIR QURESHI
Japan has been providing development assistance to Pakistan since 1954 and will celebrate the 70th anniversary of Official Development Assistance (ODA) cooperation next year.
These views were expressed by Ambassador of Japan Mr Wada Mitsuhiro at an end-of-year reception organized exclusively for journalists on Thursday.
Senior members from the Political, Economic & Development and Public Affairs sections of the embassy including Chief of the Public Affairs Section MrKazumasaTakane, First Secretary Chief of Political Affairs Mr Shinohara Nobukuni, DCM Mr Ito Takeshi and JICA’s Chief Representative, Mr Kinoshita were also present on the occasion.The ambassador said, “Today, more than 80 Japanese companies were doing their business in Pakistan with a creation of more than 80,000 jobs.”
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 “dereenah dost” or old-time friends.About the Japan-Pakistan relations, he said the two countries celebrated the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2022 and continued to develop the relationship this year. Last summer, Pakistan experienced the largest flood in its history and Japan pledged approximately US$77 million 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 Government of Sindh are being prepared for implementation, the ambassador further said. He also mentioned Foreign Minister’s visit to Japan in July. “I attended the meeting between the two Ministers in Tokyo and saw them having an open and frank exchange of views,” said the ambassador.
While Pakistan is heading toward general elections, we have a new Foreign Minister, Ms. Yoko Kamikawa. She recently visited Palestine and Israel to discuss the situation, especially how to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, said the ambassador while sharing his thoughts on the ME conflict. 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 move bilateral relations forward.
He also referred to the recent conferring of the Government of Japan’s Imperial Decorations on Mr. Imtiaz Ahmad, former Ambassador to Japan. He mastered the Japanese language in Japan and contributed to strengthening friendship, cultural and economic relations and mutual understanding, the ambassador said. Dr. GazalaIrfan, President of the Pakistan Japan Cultural Association Lahore, has also been conferred the honor for her contributions on the promotion of the cultural relationships for many years. As the Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, I assure you that I am fully committed to further developing our long-standing friendship through various channels, the ambassador concluded his speech on the positive note.
