Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said that Japanese Prime Minister Shinz? Abe's visit to Pakistan is eagerly awaited which would not only boost bilateral ties but also further strengthen Pak-Japan economic partnership. He was talking to Kazuyuki Nakane, the visiting Japanese Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, here on Wednesday. At the outset of the meeting Kazuyuki thanked the Minister for the meeting and said the Finance Minister's visit to Japan in January had paved the way for renewed economic co-operation.
Both the Ministers had in depth exchange of views on economic co-operation. Finance Minister informed Kazuyuki that all was set for inauguration of state of the art Yamaha motorcycle plant on April 27. Both the Ministers lauded Yamah's venture saying it would provide fresh impetus to investment by other famed Japanese companies in Pakistan. He also told Kazuyuki that JICA was resuming operations as the matter regarding a legal petition had been resolved. Kazuyuki welcomed the development.
Ishaq Dar briefed the visiting dignitary about the current profile of Pakistan's economy, saying that Pakistan made its presence felt in the international capital market through issuance of Euro bonds and Sukkuk and revived linkages with financial institutions. Important economic indicators were positive and the economy was put on the right track through vigorous reforms process. "We are consolidating our economic gains and wish to enter the emerging economies league now," the Minister added. He said the government had taken steps to resolve the energy issue and envisaged power generation to the tune of 10,000 MW in next three years.
Kazuyuki while affirming continued Japanese support for economic development in Pakistan, expressed concern over the attack on Army Public School, Peshawar and attacks on mosques. He said Japan condemned such despicable acts and stood by Pakistan in its anti-terror drive. Ishaq Dar shared details about the on-going operation Zarb-e-Azb with Kazuyuki and said it had yielded good results as a number of high profile targets had been eliminated. He said the Government had undertaken a 21-point National Action Plan to eliminate militancy. He said the Government had taken concrete steps to ensure safety of foreign nationals in Pakistan including Japanese citizens.
Kazuyuki, in response to Finance Minister's invitation to Japanese mobile companies to participate in future spectrum auctions, said he would convey this invitation to Japanese companies and urge them to be more active in Pakistan's mobile phone services market. Both sides also hoped that the Pak-Japan Joint Business Group meeting in May would also help enhance trade and economic co-operation-PR
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