KARACHI: Japan Consul General Hattori Masaru, while referring to recent terrorist attacks in Balochistan, stated that Pakistan has lots of tourism resources, particularly in the Northern Areas but ‘security issue is of concern’ as the terrorist attacks like the recent one in Balochistan have a very negative impact on the minds of Japanese society and its tourists.
“Pakistani government has been doing its best to stop terrorism and I hope they will continue to make the best of their efforts to stop terrorist activities so that a good environment could be created to ensure increased number of tourists from Japan,” he added while exchanging views at a meeting during his visit to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI).
KCCI President Iftikhar Ahmed Sheikh, Senior Vice President Altaf A. Ghaffar, Vice President Tanveer Ahmed Barry, Chairman Diplomatic Missions & Embassies Liaison Subcommittee Farooq Afzal, Former President Majyd Aziz and KCCI Managing Committee Members were also present at the meeting.
Japanese CG, who was posted as Consul General of Karachi eight months ago, stated that business relations between Japan and Pakistan have continued for more than 100 years since 1918 when Japan Cotton Trading Company (now Sojitz), which was responsible for exporting high quality cotton from the region to Japan, established an office in Karachi.
“Japan started importing Pakistani mangoes in 2011 which have been gaining reputation as the sweetest mangoes in the world and are becoming popular in Japan,” he said, adding that Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture visits Pakistan every year to check mango processing and packing facilities. Thanks to the efforts of growers, who are also exporters and distributors, Pakistani mangoes were being enjoyed by Japanese households.
Highlighting Japanese investments in Pakistan, the envoy noted that last year, Morinaga Milk increased its capital by $57 million while Toyota invested $100m to begin local production of hybrid-electric vehicles. “Kumon, a Japanese education company, opened classrooms in Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi, aiming to open 15 classrooms by the end of next year”, he said, adding that in the information technology (IT) sector, Japan Station, which provides software offshore development services for Japan, is extending business. Human resource firms Plus W and Profound Vision have established offices in Pakistan and are helping Pakistani IT engineers to explore onshore and offshore job opportunities with Japanese companies.
He was of the opinion that if Pakistani goods were manufactured as per global standards of gold medal quality and transported effectively while maintaining the quality, the country will be able to compete successfully in the global market.
He informed that a seminar on exports from Pakistan to Japan will be organized by Pakistan Japan Business Forum (PJBF) in collaboration with Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) on 11th September 2024 which will be very informative, hence, KCCI members are encouraged to attend the seminar for exploring business chances. “As Consul General of Japan, I will cooperate with all of you to further strengthen relations between Pakistan and Japan”.
Citing the example of Olympics gold medal recently won by Arshad Nadeem who continued to practice for 20 years, he said that the production of gold medal quality products also takes several years of efforts and it can only be attained with the cooperation of concerned parties as witnessed in case of Arshad Nadeem who also had many collaborators.
Earlier, President KCCI Iftikhar Sheikh, while welcoming Japanese CG, stated that despite close ties between Pakistan and Japan, trade volume remains below its potential as in FY2024, Pakistan's exports to Japan were around $184 million, while imports from Japan stood at $1 billion. “To improve low bilateral trade, both countries should focus on diversifying exports by addressing trade barriers, simplifying customs procedures, promoting ease of doing business and incentivizing SMEs to fully exploit the opportunities and strengthen economic cooperation.”
He said that Pakistan’s rapidly expanding IT sector features a mobile penetration rate of 79.46 percent and a broadband penetration of 57.61 percent, with exports of $3.3 billion and annual growth of 24 percent in FY24. “These impressive numbers coupled with a large skilled workforce and favourable business environment, offer great business and investment opportunities to Japanese investors.”
Referring to severe energy crisis in Pakistan which have exacerbated high cost of doing business, President KCCI sought Japanese technical assistance and investment in renewable energy projects, including solar, wind, hydropower, and coal-based initiatives. “Japanese investors should take advantage of available business opportunities in CPEC through investments and joint ventures in nine special economic zones, offering huge incentives for foreign and domestic investors”, he added and also stressed the need to further increase bilateral cooperation in agricultural-based industry and value addition to boost agro-exports.
Underscoring the need to build strong people-to-people connections and staging single country exhibitions, he particularly mentioned that Pakistan’s tourism potential offers a great opportunity for Japanese investors. “Liberalizing visa regime is crucial to promote free movement of entrepreneurs and citizens which, in addition to ensuring improved economic and cultural ties, would also facilitate easy access to Japanese as well as Pakistani market,” he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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