Japanese envoy calls on President Arif Alvi

Islamabad:President Dr Arif Alvi has said that Pakistan attaches great importance to its ties with Japan as both countries enjoy cordial relations in various fields for decades. He stated that Japan enjoyed tremendous goodwill in Pakistan as the government and people of Pakistan highly valued the important contribution made by Japan in supporting development efforts in Pakistan. He made these remarks while talking to the Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, Kuniori Matsuda, who called on him, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, on Monday.

While talking to the ambassador, the President expressed the desire to further enhance trade and economic relations for the mutual benefits of the two countries. Highlighting the investment potential in Pakistan, the President underscored that Japan could avail abundant and business opportunities in Pakistan, especially in sectors like, agriculture, automobile, information and textile. He appreciated the Government of Japan’s decision to suspend debt repayments under the Debt Service Suspension Initiative. He thanked the Government of Japan for the assistance provided to Pakistan to combat COVID-19 Pandemic. The President stressed the need to increase frequency of bilateral exchanges at the highest level to further strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two countries. He added that Japan could recruit skilled workers and IT experts from Pakistan to meet its human resource requirements.

The President asked the Ambassador to convey his heartfelt felicitations and best wishes to His Majesty Emperor Naruhito on his birthday, which is tomorrow (23rd February). The Japanese Ambassador congratulated the President over the recently concluded Pakistan Navy’s Multinational Maritime Exercise Aman-2021, adding that it brought countries from different parts of the world to work together for collective purpose.