KARACHI – Pakistan would seek Japanese assistance in five broad areas including trade, development, security, energy and institution-building during the upcoming visit of President Asif Ali Zardari to Japan. The president is likely to visit Japan by the end of current month as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sought proposals from various government institutions, trade bodies and chambers of commerce for enhancing the existing trade volume between the two countries, sources say.
Zardari, who last visited Japan in April 2009 to attended a meeting of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP) in Tokyo, would discuss bilateral and regional issues with the top Japanese leadership. Pakistan’s current total export to Japan stands at over $240 million while the imports are over $1.0 billion. According to sources, Islamabad would try to convince the Japanese government to avail investment opportunities in special economic zones (SEZ).
They also claim that Tokyo is likely to raise the issue of used vehicles as the government’s decision to allow the import would hurt their interest because around 40 Japanese companies are operating in Pakistan. Though Pakistan produces best quality mangoes and has already gained access to the US, UK, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Singapore and some other countries, the quality standard issue is currently hampering the export to Japan.
