It gives me immense pleasure to extend our best wishes and sincere felicitations on His Majesty the Emperor's Birthday and the National Day of Japan and to wish His Majesty continued health and Happiness. The people of Pakistan hold His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress in highest esteem, consider them as true friends of Pakistan and have a lot of affection and goodwill for the people of Japan.
I would also like to extend my heartiest felicitations to Pakistan-Japan Business Forum (PJBF) for another year of the excellent work that it has been carrying out since its inception in 2001. Forums such as the PJBF not only contribute in enhancing mutually beneficial cooperation between Pakistan and Japan through developing business relations but also provide an important platform to increase people-to-people exchanges. The efforts made by PJBF and the initiatives that it continues to take are indeed commendable.
The year 2018 saw a renewed vigor and positivity in the bilateral relations between Pakistan and Japan. The upward trajectory was manifested in increased bilateral exchanges and activity, both at official level and between the private businesses of the two countries.
The year started with a visit by the Foreign Minister of Japan H.E. Taro Kono to Pakistan. It was after nine years that a Japanese Foreign Minister visited Pakistan and was reflective of the increasing importance both sides attached to this relationship and the mutual desire to further deepen bilateral relations.
The 5th High level Economic Policy Dialogue (HLEPD) was also held in Pakistan in April 2018 after a gap of 7 years. The dialogue presented a good platform to discuss issues pertaining to investment and bilateral economic cooperation.
In December 2018, Mr. Abdul Razak Dawood, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce, Textiles, Industry and Production and Investment, visited Tokyo to attend the 6th round of Pakistan-Japan Joint Government Business Dialogue (JGBD). During his stay, the Advisor held meetings with his counterparts at METI and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, besides meeting heads of several government and private business organizations. The key role played by PJBF in mobilizing, coordinating and conducting the private sector businesses for the JGBD was highly appreciated.
For Pakistan and Japan, the potential to grow mutually beneficial relations based on inherent complementarities is immense. For Pakistan, Japan has been an important development partner with extensive trade and investment linkages. The continued presence in Pakistan of 86 major Japanese companies and their growing numbers and range of activities is a testament to the trade and investment win-win that our two countries have enjoyed over the decades.
Building on this decades old relationship, Japan with its profound capacity and expertise for investment but with a greying population and a shrinking work force can be a natural partner for a Pakistan having more than 60% of its population under the age of 30 and having one of the fastest growing middle class in the world. As opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation continue to expand, the role of business entities such as PJBF will assume more importance to effectively capitalize on such opportunities.
Pakistan has made important strides these past few years in particular both on the security and the economic fronts. The upbeat business projections about Pakistan are obviously attracting renewed business and investor interest in Pakistan from across the globe including Japan.
In JETRO's survey released in March this year, Pakistan was rated at the top in Asia by Japanese companies on account of expected profits in 2018, plans for expansion of operations and hiring of local labour force. These results indicate high confidence of the Japanese companies in future economic prospects of Pakistan and the quality of its labour force. We look forward to further building on this positivity to intensify our business and investment engagement.
As 2018 ends with a lot of happenings and achievements to its credit, we look forward to making 2019 as the year of further deepening the mutually beneficial cooperation between Pakistan and Japan to its true potential, with particular focus on economic and business ties as well as human resource development. Long live Pakistan-Japan friendship!
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