Ambassador of Japan, MrAkamatsu Shuichi hosted a reception on Tuesday to celebrate the 65th Birthday of His Majesty the Emperor Naruhito.
The colourful ceremony was attended by a large number of guests including federal ministers and parliamentarians, MrAkamatsu’s colleagues from the Diplomatic Corps, government officials, members of civil society, business representatives and of course a large number of the Japan nationals.
Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan was the chief guest on the occasion. Minister for Maritime Affairs; Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh; PM’s Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs, Tariq Fatemi; Sen Sherry Rehman; former Senator Raja ZafarulHaq, Begum AbdaHussain, Syed Fakhar Imam, Senator SitaraAyaz and noted persons of the town were among the guests. Jam Kamal Khan in his address felicitated the Ambassador of Japan, his wife, the staff of the Japan embassy and the citizens of this great nation on the auspicious occasion.
Pakistan, he said highly valued its relations with Japan as Japan-Pakistan partnership spans over decades and Japan’s role in the world as Champion of Peace is highly valued, he said.
Japan and Pakistan enjoy close relations since establishing diplomatic ties in 1952 and the two countries have cooperated in many areas, including trade, development, and culture. On behalf of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the people of Pakistan I extend my heartiest congratulations to Japan’s leadership and the people, he said.
A cake was also cut on the occasion and national anthems of the two countries were also played.
Earlier, welcoming the guests and cerebrating the 7th birthday since His Majesty’s enthronement, Ambassador Akamatsu said he was encouraged by many favourable remarks about Japan and the expectation to strengthen the ties with Japan. Still lies an unlimited space for cooperation between our two countries, he said adding Japan will continue to further enhance relations with Pakistan in diverse sectors including industrial cooperation, business, investment, energy and automobile.
He said that Japan is committed to cooperating with Pakistan to bring harmony and cooperation to this divided international society. Regarding bilateral relations, Ambassador Akamatsu reiterated Japan’s unwavering commitment to supporting Pakistan based on its over 70 years of experience providing Pakistan with Official Development Assistance (ODA). Such assistance is based on Japan’s “assistance philosophy of ‘not only providing fish, but also teaching how to fish,’ based on mutual respect and collaboration,” he said.
Ambassador Akamatsu also hoped for more human resource exchanges and cultural interaction between the two countries. On the occasion of the Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, from April till October this year, he encouraged more Pakistani people to visit Japan by referring to the saying ‘seeing is believing.’
Ambassador Akamatsu concluded his remarks by wishing that more active exchanges between Japan and Pakistan would lead to a friendship that meets the demands of this new age.
