Japanese Companies Keen To Invest In Pakistan:

Senior Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Japan, Kazuyuki Yamazaki Thursday said with the amelioration of security conditions in Pakistan, Japanese companies were now keenly interested in investment.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Apr, 2018 ) :Senior Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Japan, Kazuyuki Yamazaki Thursday said with the amelioration of security conditions in Pakistan, Japanese companies were now keenly interested in investment.

He said this during a meeting with Federal Secretary Commerce Mohammad Younus Dagha here at the ministry. He aid Japan and Pakistan enjoyed excellent bilateral and commercial ties and Pakistan had a lot of potential and was a sizeable lucrative market for Japanese companies.

Japan, he said, would take all necessary steps to increase bilateral trade with Pakistan and was looking forward for more and more interaction in that regard. The Secretary Commerce highlighted that Pakistan and Japan enjoyed excellent commercial ties, which were deeply rooted in history.

He further said that present level of bilateral trade was around US $ 2.3 billion -Japan's exports to Pakistan US $ 2.03 billion against Pakistan's exports to Japan US $ 250 million. He said that Pakistan's exports to Japan had declined in the recent past and the main reason for the dormancy was Japan's preferential market access commitments, especially in Pakistan's priority sectors such as textile, agriculture and leather products, with other trading partners like India, Bangladesh and ASEAN countries, who enjoyed duty free access either because of bilateral/regional trading arrangements or LDC status.

Dagha said that in order to provide a level playing field to its exporters, Pakistan proposed to form Joint Trade Committee (JTC) to discuss the issue, during the 5th Joint Government business Dialogue (JGBD) held in 2015 at Islamabad.

He also requested the Japanese side to consider revising travel advisory which is hindering B2B interactions and affecting bilateral trade. The Secretary Commerce highlighted the need for mutual facilitation of businessmen through multiple entry visas to promote trade and investment. Both sides could work out a mechanism of guarantees by trade bodies, he added.