TAXILA: Japanese Ambassador Akamatsu Shuichi on Monday said that his country would strengthen and enhance investment, trade and economic relations with Pakistan.

Talking to newsmen, the envoy was of the view that despite the fact that current bilateral trade remained below its true potential, there is huge potential for enhancing bilateral trade and investment between the two countries.

Responding to a question, he said that Japanese human resource companies are active in Pakistan, and the Ministry of Information Technology, Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are collaborating to establish a system that connects Pakistani IT human resources with Japanese companies.

Mr Shuichi added that around 80 Japanese companies are currently operating in the country, employing over 65,000 local workers, and significantly contributing to the Pakistani economy. Responding to a question, the envoy said that Japan’s assistance in Pakistan’s socio-economic development spans over 70 years.

He added that capacity building in health, education, agriculture, gender and IT sectors were the priority areas for the Japanese assistance in Pakistan. He said that over the past 70 years, a cumulative total of 7,443 Pakistanis have studied in Japan, and 3,140 Japanese experts have supported the government and the people of Pakistan.

He added that development cooperation between the two countries had started back in 1954 and to date, Japan has been the second largest donor for Pakistan on a cumulative basis after the United States.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2025