Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, visited Japan on 1-4 July 2023 at the invitation of Foreign Minister of Japan Yoshimasa Hayashi. In Tokyo, Foreign Minister held bilateral talks with Foreign Minister Hayashi and called on Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
The two Foreign Ministers discussed all aspects of bilateral relation; including, trade and investment, defence cooperation, education, science & technology, vocational training, people to people exchanges and export of manpower from Pakistan to Japan. They also exchanged views on the regional and global matters.
The two sides expressed their desire to remain engaged at all levels to further intensify dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation. They agreed to work together on targeted programmes with high impact, especially in the domain of solarization, desalination and water purification, housing and infrastructure rebuilding in the flood affected areas in Pakistan. It was also agreed to conduct the language skill tests for Japanese language in Pakistan, to facilitate movement of the skilled workforce.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari addressed the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) where he spoke about Pakistan’s vision of regional connectivity and economic cooperation. He emphasized the importance of Pakistan-Japan relations and the vast and multi-faceted economic complementarities between Pakistan and Japan which could create win-win outcomes and shared prosperity and growth. He said that together Pakistan and Japan could create a robust and efficient infrastructure network, boost regional connectivity and enhance trade volumes not only between the two countries but also across the entire region.
The Foreign Minister also met with executives of Japanese business enterprises, representatives of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and with prominent members of Japanese civil society. In these meetings, he highlighted the vast trade and investment potential between Pakistan and Japan and invited Japanese enterprises to invest in Pakistan. In his interactions with members of the Pakistani community in Japan, the Foreign Minister shared Government’s strong commitment to facilitate Pakistani diaspora abroad.
The visit of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to Tokyo afforded an important opportunity for high level political engagement between Pakistan and Japan. These engagements and dialogue will further build mutual trust and confidence and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.
Islamabad
4 July 2023
