Islamabad, 29 September 2022 (TDI): The Japan-Pakistan Joint Government-Business Dialogue held its seventh session in Islamabad. Syed Naveed Qamar, Federal Minister for Commerce and Investment, inaugurated the Dialogue.
Syed Naveed Qamar welcomed the leader of the Japanese delegation, Ryuji Satomi. Ryuji Satomi is the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry, in his opening remarks at the plenary session.
Federal Minister for Commerce and Investment stated that Pakistan and Japan are key trading partners, and Pakistan acknowledges Japan’s contribution to Pakistan.
He further noted that the Joint Dialogue commemorated the 70th anniversary of Pakistan and Japan establishing diplomatic relations.
He expressed his delight at seeing Japanese enterprises from various areas such as automobiles, information technology, electronics, construction, and finance visiting Pakistan.
Meanwhile, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) to promote bilateral trade.
Following the plenary session, the two parties held official negotiations. Sualeh Ahmed Faruqui, Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, led Pakistan’s delegation.
Trade, agriculture, fisheries, investment, the engineering sector, energy efficiency, compliance requirements, and technological collaboration were all discussed.
Despite global disruption and obstacles caused by the COVID outbreak, the two sides expressed satisfaction with the sustained high pace of bilateral trade growth.
Both parties agreed to continue conversations between the two countries in order to improve trade and investment prospects.
Pakistan-Japan Ties
Prior to the establishment of permanent diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Japan, the trade liaison offices in Karachi and Tokyo were the only sources of commerce and diplomatic interactions.
The offices had been in operation since 1948. Both countries opened regular diplomatic missions on April 18, 1952, just 10 days after the Japanese peace treaty was ratified.
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Diplomatic relations between the two countries were officially established in 1952. Pakistan played a significant part in assisting in the lifting of the occupation.
Aside from that, Pakistan also helped in the rebuilding of the Japanese economy through mass exports and the waiver of war reparations owed to the country by Japan.
