It gives me a great pleasure to witness the strong bond of friendship between Japan and Pakistan as we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic relations this year. Japan and Pakistan have always helped each other, especially as disaster-prone countries. Pakistan has helped us greatly after the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011 in spite of her own difficult time with the floods in Sindh.
Japan has continuously supported Pakistan as a major development partner, using different means of support including financial assistance as well as technical co-operation. This relationship will not change and the two countries will continue to help each other as true friends.
Pakistan is a country with a great potential for the future. There are development opportunities especially in the field of investment and trade. Pakistan has rich natural and human resources. I have seen top quality products in Pakistan which I would like to introduce to Japan.
Although Pakistan is facing difficult challenges, I believe that the country will successfully overcome them. Japan will continue to support Pakistan through Official Development Assistance and other means. As the Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, I will continue to work hard to deepen our mutual understanding through economic, educational, cultural and political exchanges which range from high level dialogues to grass roots level programs. I look forward to strengthening our bilateral ties even further.