‘For Japan, Pakistan indispensable for regional stability’

Islamabad : Prof Masayuki Masuda, division head at National Institute for Defence Studies (NIDS), has said that Pakistan played a vital role in regional stability and is seen as committed to promoting peace amidst growing challenges.

Prof Masuda was speaking at an international seminar organised by Institute of Regional Studies (IRS).

Prof Masuda suggested that Pakistan and Japan, having both experienced significant human and economic losses due to conflicts and wars, were uniquely positioned to collaborate on promoting peace. He also stressed that Japan’s "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" concept aimed to foster regional peace and prosperity, which aligns with Pakistan’s connectivity interests. He called for increased cooperation in areas such as telecom, AI and climate change which would benefit both nations.

Speaking on the occasion, NIDS Senior Fellow Masahiro Kurita clarified that Japan's growing cooperation with India, even within the QUAD framework, was primarily focused on political and economic cooperation and should not impact Pakistan's security concerns. He acknowledged that perceptions of Pakistan were influenced by its deepening relationship with China, but emphasised Pakistan's balanced approach demonstrating its commitment to fostering broad international ties for enhanced connectivity.

Farukh Amil, former ambassador to Japan, affirmed Pakistan's long-standing desire to strengthen development partnerships with Japan. He also emphasised Japan's technological leadership and the critical importance of collaboration in technology and innovation for Pakistan's future economic and security progress while praising Japan’s unconditional humanitarian aid during natural disasters.

Jauhar Saleem, President, IRS, stated that Pakistan-Japan cooperation was a factor of stability at a time when great power competition was intensifying. He emphasised upon the shared values and interests which bound the two countries in cordial and cooperative ties, and called for building on this foundation to further enhance multifaceted cooperation. He also advocated increased political dialogue, cultural exchanges and people-to-people contact to foster yet greater understanding of each other's perspectives.