BY HAZRAT ALI YOUSAFZAI
ISLAMABAD: In connection with celebrations of 70th anniversary of Pakistan-Japan diplomatic relations, Japan’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Pakistan WADA Mitsuhiro hosted a grand reception in honor of senior Journalists at his residence here on Friday evening.
The reception was very largely attended by Journalists from both Print and Electronic Media Organizations of the Country and intellectuals.
At this occasion, Ambassador WADA Mitsuhiro said that he had been waiting for such an occasion to welcome the Journalists since his arrival in Islamabad last year, as he could not have an opportunity to host them at his residence due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Shedding light on Pakistan-Japan relations, he said that the relationship between Japan and Pakistan had been very close as “Deerina Dost” and continued to spread through mutual cooperation based on shared values such as democracy, peace and sustainable development.
He said that Japan attaches immense importance to its relationship with Pakistan and was fully committed to further improving ties in all areas of mutual interest. It is clear that you are very important for materializing those shared values.
He said that he was glad to say that both nations had been supportive to each other and that this year both nations were celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
“Our diplomatic relation was established on April 28 in 1952. Pakistan was one of the countries which welcomed Japan back to the international arena after the World War II. Pakistan helped Japan diplomatically by sending a delegation to participate in San Francisco Peace Treaty. Pakistan was the first country that started to export cotton to Japan in the 1950s, which played an important role for the Japanese post-war reconstruction. Japan processed raw cotton from Pakistan into yarn and cloth. Japan on the other hand exported machinery such as spindles to Pakistan. In this way, we helped each other particularly in the textile sector,” said Ambassador Mitsuhiro.
He said that during the first decade after Pakistan’s independence, a number of Japanese business offices were set up in Karachi mainly for trading purposes. For example, the third overseas branch by the Bank of Tokyo in 1953 and the second overseas office by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). This portrays traditional friendship including business activity between the two countries.
He said that as for the Official Development Assistance (ODA) from Japan, Pakistan was one of the first countries, which Japan started to provide with since 1954.
“Japan remains one of the major bilateral development partners to Pakistan since 1954, extending assistance in multifaceted sectors of socio-economic development. The total value of assistance has amounted to $11.7 Billion, and 7,273 trainees have been accepted from Pakistan as of January 2022. This includes Japanese concessional loan, grant assistance, and technical cooperation, that have been utilized mostly for supporting infrastructure and social development, including assistance on creating roads, power generation / transmission / distribution, water and sanitation, agriculture, education, health, security, disaster management, climate change and human resources development,” said Japanese Envoy.
He said that the Kohat tunnel, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), the construction of steel bridges near Fort Munro which connects Southern Punjab to Balochistan via N-70, Indus Highway, Weather Forecasting and Surveillance Radar System were a few examples of Japanese assistance, while among others, Polio eradication was one of the focused areas of Japanese assistance. Since 1996, the Government of Japan together with other partners had been consistently assisting Pakistan to eliminate this disease.
“JICA is very active in Pakistan as you know. The video you are watching on the screen today is called “Weave Your Dreams” which is showing JICA’s activity to support women empowerment through technical training. You will watch the success stories of female graduate from three garment related vocational training institutes in Faisalabad and Lahore. As a trusted partner, Japan has tirelessly been supporting Pakistan. It was at the time of the devastating earthquake in 2005, countrywide floods in 2010 and 2022, COVID-19 pandemic or Locust invasion, Japan is always standing by Pakistan as “Deerenah Dost”, asserted Ambassador Mitsuhiro.
He said that the Government of Japan has also been providing academic scholarships to Pakistani students every year for higher studies in Japan from 1963 in Pakistan and so far 820 graduates (470 Embassy recommended scholarship and 350 direct scholarship) have successfully completed their degrees from Japan and the scholarship was very popular and competitive due to good academic environment of Japanese universities as well as its fully funded program.
Talking about People-to-people exchanges, Ambassador Mitsuhiro said that these exchanges were the foundation of Pak-Japan friendship from a long-term perspective and in this regard, he had been actively supporting events and programs which encourage further interactions and deepen mutual understanding.
He said that this year Pakistani military musical band participated in the annual grand concert organized by the Japan Self Defense Forces in Japan. With the recent active participation by JSDF in AMAN 21 and wished to see such interactions helping further deepening the multi-layered cooperation between the two countries.
“On the occasion of 70th anniversary, we must renew ourselves to further develop our close ties for next 70 years as “Deerenah Dost”. We should make a firm commitment to deepen our cherished ties which will amplify the welfare of both peoples. As the Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, I assure you that I am fully committed to further developing our long-standing friendship through various channels. Once again, you are very important part of this effort,” concluded Ambassador WADA Mitsuhiro.
