HYDERABAD, Jan 12: Consul-General of Japan in Karachi Shoichi Nakano has said that though Japan and Pakistan are separated by geography and culture, they enjoy friendly relations, adding that Japan's development assistance to Pakistan has a long history, starting from 1954.

He was delivering a lecture on "Pakistan-Japan Relations" at the Area Study Centre, Far East and Southeast Asia, University of Sindh, on Friday.

The faculty and students of the centre and department of International Relations attended the lecture.

Mr Nakano said that since then, economic cooperation between the two countries had enhanced, except for few years after nuclear test by Pakistan.

He said that Japan was top donor to Pakistan in 1990s as well as in 2002, 2003, and 2004. He said that Japan's development assistance to Pakistan had three forms: Yen loan, grant aid and technical assistance.

He said that the Yen loan began in 1961 for electricity, transport, communication, irrigation, rural works and other developmental projects in social sector including education. He added that the technical cooperation was extended for human resource development in various fields.

He said, Japan being the only victim of nuclear bomb, suspended aid, assistance and grant of loans to Pakistan after nuclear tests were conducted by it in 1998.

He said that in recognition of remarkable efforts by Pakistan to curb terrorism, technical assistance by Japan was resumed by November 2001. Later in 2005, Yen loan was resumed following the visit of President Gen Pervez Musharraf to Japan and in the meantime, development assistance was also restored, the consul-general said.

He said that a Japanese rescue team was the first to arrive in Pakistan in the wake of last year’s earthquake.

He said that Karachi was the first place where Japanese companies had established their overseas outlets and Pakistan was major exporter of cotton and yarn for Japanese textile industry. Japan had exported textile industry technology to Pakistan, he added.However, he said that exports from Pakistan to Japan were declining which needed to be rectified and added that Japan was one of the major investors in Pakistan. ?