The Emperor’s Birthday & National Day of Japan Message from Akira Terakawa, Chairman of the Japan-Pakistan, Business Co-operation Committee (JPBCC)

Since the JPBCC’s establishment in 1984, we have been promoting bilateral business ties, trade, investment and economic activities. 2022 was the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Pakistan.

The JPBCC held the ninth Japan-Pakistan Private Sector Business Dialogue in Islamabad together with the Pakistan Japan Business Forum (PJBF) in September 2022. We also attended a Government Business Dialogue organized by the governments of Japan and Pakistan as representatives of the Japanese business community. We paid a courtesy call on His Excellency Prime Minister Sharif to report the results of the discussion.

Last August, we held the Pakistan Investment Seminar with the Board of Investment (BOI) of Pakistan and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). It was our great pleasure to welcome H.E. Mr. Chaudhry, Federal Minister of BOI and Mr. Murtaza, the chairman of PJBF. More than one hundred Japanese companies participated in this seminar. We hope to further reinforce economic ties between Japan and Pakistan by bringing together the strengths of the public and private sectors.

As the international situation has recently become increasingly severe, we believe it is Akira Terakawa very important to maintain strong bilateral relations. Pakistan has a population of over 240 million people. Those under the age of 25 account for approximately 60% of the total population, and there are many English-speaking human resources. So we believe that Pakistan’s potential is extremely high.

As such, I believe that Pakistan will achieve further economic development thanks to its demographic dividend and such promising industrial sectors as automobiles, textiles, and information technology. Consequently, I am convinced that more and more Japanese companies will choose to enter the Pakistan market in the near future.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024