Pakistan needs to successfully overcome the menace of terrorism that afflicts this beautiful land, improve the law and order situation, and take a host of other measures before her economy can take off. These views were expressed by Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi OE at a reception hosted in his honour by Pakistan Japan Business Forum (PJBF). The Japanese envoy arrived in Pakistan only two months ago was on his first visit to Karachi.
Hiroshi OE said there was no single magical formula to combat terrorism, and a multi-pronged strategy was needed. He added that it was a very complicated problem that required a host of solutions to overcome the challenges. The Japanese diplomat said many Japanese businessmen were interested in coming to Pakistan, but what prevented them coming here was the political situation as well as the lack of a modern infrastructure.
He added that the Pakistan government needed to create the necessary conditions like 24-hour availability of cheap electricity and other facilities to bring investment into the country.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Chairman Pakistan Japan Business Forum, Abdul Kader Jaffer said Pakistan Japan business relations have blossomed over the years and Pakistan was very keen to further cement these ties. The PJBF chief said that Pakistan was paying a very heavy price for the war on terror and had so far spent more than $38 billion on this war, and this did not include the losses that the country had incurred because of the war.
Jaffer said Japan needed to realise the predicament that Pakistan faced and should work towards helping Pakistan getting out of these difficulties. He added that a lot of development work needs to be done in Pakistan and Japan can help in many sectors in this respect.
The PJBF chairman said that a Japan Industrial Zone had been set up in Sindh on 2,000 acres and invited Japanese businessmen to take advantage of the facility. The Secretary General PJBF, Kaleem Farooqui in his address said the trade volume between the two countries was a little more than $1.5 billion, with the balance being heavily in Japan's favour.-PR
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