ISLAMABAD: Prime Minis­­­­­­ter Shehbaz Sharif on Wed­ne­sday met a nine-member delegation led by Japan Interna­t­i­onal Co­­operation Agency (JICA) President Dr Tanaka Aki­hiko, reaffirming Pakis­t­an’s commitment to stren­gthening its long-standing partnership with Japan and the agency.

The prime minister said that Pakistan highly valued its more than seven decades of cooperation with Japan and JICA and expressed confidence that Dr Tanaka’s visit would further deepen bilateral ties. He said Pakistan had overcome difficult economic challenges through teamwork and was now pursuing reforms at a rapid pace to achieve sustainable economic growth.

PM Shehbaz said the gover­nment’s reforms had doubled state revenues in just three years.

The prime minister said the development of Pakistan’s mi­­neral sector was a key priority and welcomed JICA’s technical cooperation in the field.

Highlighting reforms und­e­rtaken at the Small and Medi­­um Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA), PM Shehbaz said the organisation had been transformed into a more effective institution to support small- and medium-sized businesses.

He said cooperation betw­een JICA and SMEDA would help promote SMEs and boost Pakistan’s exports.

The prime minister also offered condolences over the recent earthquake in Japan.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2026