Efforts on to promote Pak-Japan trade: Shibuya

The Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, Mincru Shibuya, has said that strenuous efforts were being made for the expansion and promote bilateral trade between Japan and Pakistan.
Addressing the members of Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) here the other day, he said for this purpose the Pak-Japan Business Forum has been formed with its office at Karachi.
He said that meetings of the Forum were held, and it was proposed to hold its future meetings at Sialkot, Faisalabad and Lahore.
Mincru Shibuya was of the opinion that Pakistan is business-friendly and attracting foreign investment, adding the foreigners, who had never personally visited Pakistan, had wrongly took it as dangerous place to visit like Afghanistan, but termed it as a baseless propaganda against Pakistan based on misinformation.
The Japanese envoy also lauded the starting of bilateral talks between Pakistan and India on the sidelines during Saarc summit, adding both Pakistan and India must resolve their disputes and issues for thriving and peaceful future of the masses of South Asia.
He said both Japan and Pakistan are enjoying cordial trade and political relations, and now it was the time for the private sectors of Japan and Pakistan to play their instrumental role in tracing new spheres for creating more chances for further improving and strengthening the bilateral business and trade relations.
Mincru Shibuya said that tension between Pakistan and India were easing considerably; the South Asian region had become more positive for the Japanese investors.
Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) President Tahir Majid Kapur, in his address of welcome, said Japan is major trading partner of Pakistan, but the balance of trade between the two countries is in favour of Japan, adding due to certain factors, exports from Pakistan to Japan have not increased, one reason being the lack of interaction between traders of both the two countries.
He said the Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) office in Karachi is playing constructive role in contributing to the promotion of economic co-operation and improvement in trade relations between Japan and Pakistan, adding Sialkot is the hub of export activities in Pakistan, and virtually everything produced here is meant only for exports, therefore, the Jetro office in Sialkot is dire needed for promoting trade ties between business communities of Pakistan and Japan.
Earlier, the Japanese envoy visited various industrial units of Sialkot.