Japan and Pakistan have the potential to greatly expand bilateral trade and economic ties, said Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, Kuninori Matsuda.
He highlighted that Pakistan exports several high-value goods like cotton, apparel, fruits, oilseeds, Oleagis fruits, grain seeds, products of animal origin, salt, sulfur, stone, plaster, lime and cement, leather and leather goods, animal guts, harnesses, etc.
The ambassador said that both countries have the potential to double their bilateral trade and fully exploit their resources.
Replying to a question, the ambassador said that Pakistan and Japan are looking to cooperate in agriculture-based industry and value addition as Japan has already announced a grant aid to enhance productivity in relevant agricultural fields.
Matsuda revealed that Japan is willing to enhance cooperation in the auto parts industry as well to enhance the capacity of the local labor force and create employment opportunities in Pakistan.
Japanese companies are interested in establishing the industrial units of auto parts in Pakistan to provide an opportunity to the local people, said the ambassador.
Replying to another question, he said that Japanese firms are directly invested in production in Pakistan and Suzuki is engaged in producing cars in Pakistan.
“Suzuki and Toyota cars are popular vehicles in Pakistan because they meet the local demand efficiently,” he pointed out.
Recently, Japan announced an aid of $5.2 million to support agri-food and agriculture-based industrial development in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Recently, Japan announced a grand aid of $5.2 million to support agri-food and agriculture-based industry development in the country’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.
The diplomat said that this amount will be utilized for enhancing the productivity and capacities of relevant sectors in the cattle meat value chain in districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said that the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is already working in the agro-based region of Khyber Pakhtunkwa including Hazara, Swat, and Chitral for promoting innovation and value addition in these areas.
He said that through JICA, the Japanese government is also working on cold storage for the preservation of apple, apricot, and other perishable fruits.
The ambassador said that Pakistan and Japan agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in November for the export of thousands of hi-tech skilled laborers from Pakistan to Japan.
Japan wants to attract around 350,000 blue-collar workers from all over the world by 2025 and will further enhance this number by 2030.
Japan will provide jobs to around 350,000 workers from 10 different countries, including Pakistan.
Kuninori Matsuda said the labor force will be accommodated in 14 major sectors including nursing care, building clinic, agriculture, fisheries, hotel management, food and beverages, aircraft maintenance and airports ground handling staff, shipbuilding, material processing, industrial machinery, constructions, car mechanic, electronics and electronic machinery.
