I take this opportunity on the National Day of Japan, 23rd December, 2010, to express my sincere gratitude to the Government of Pakistan and the whole nation for the hospitality and goodwill that they have always shown to the Japanese community.
On the 7th of December, the Consulate-General of Japan at Karachi hosted the reception celebrating the 77th Birthday of His Majesty the Emperor Akihito of Japan and today, on the 23rd of December, His Majesty the Emperor becomes 77 years old. Their Majesty the Emperor and Empress attach great importance to the principle of being "together with the people."
As a part of National Day reception ceremony, Dr Lutfullah Mangi, former Director of Area Study Centre, Far East & Southeast Asia, University of Sindh, was conferred the Order of Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon by the Government of Japan in recognition of his outstanding contribution for promotion of mutual understanding between Pakistan and Japan. This order is the highest order to foreign academia.
To prove our unconditional friendship towards Pakistan, the Government of Japan has stood by Pakistan in times of adversity and continues to render assistance in various areas of development.
This year in particular, Pakistan faced and is still facing an enormous challenge in the shape of devastating floods which have affected a huge number of Pakistanis, and also damaged and even destroyed vast areas of agricultural land. The Government of Japan had therefore sent relief goods, medical team and 6 helicopters that brought with it relief goods and aid officials to assist in the flood affected areas of Pakistan as a token of our friendship with Pakistan.
Apart from economic co-operation, The Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), The Association of Overseas Technical Scholarship (AOTS) and other Japanese organisations are ready to assist Pakistan's private sector and small medium enterprises through human resources development and technology transfer.
On the academic front too, the scholarship program of Japan (MEXT) enables deserving Pakistani students to avail this opportunity of pursuing higher studies in Japan. Moreover, the Japan Foundation also supports foreign researchers to study in Japan. In addition to above mentioned Dr, Lutfullah Mangi, Dr Abdul Wahab, President of Muhammad Jinnah University, did ample research in their areas of specialisation in Japan under the financial support of the Japan Foundation, and they were therefore honoured by the Government of Japan.
Besides the Government-Government relation, the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) contributes to the development of Pakistan. This program is a direct assistance scheme towards Pakistani Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs). Every year, many Pakistani NGOs apply to this program, and receive financial support from the Government of Japan after the examination.
In the cultural arena as well, Japan is actively involved in organising events to promote Japanese culture all over Pakistan. It is heart warming to see how keen our Pakistani friends are in learning about the Japanese culture and how much they appreciate our efforts in familiarising the people of Pakistan with the Japanese way of life.
In the end, I would like to say that it is my sincere wish to see the friendship between Japan and Pakistan flourish and that our two countries keep working together to ensure further strengthened amicable relationship for generations to come.