Pakistani Businessmen Participate in Joint Business Dialogue Forum in Japan

Pakistan Japan Business Forum (PJBF) took a business delegation comprising several business groups and Small Media Enterprises (SME)’s to the 8th Joint Business Dialogue in Tokyo, followed by government to business (G2B) and government to government (G2G) dialogues. The Pakistani delegation was headed by PJBF Chairman Sohail P. Ahmed while the Japanese business delegation was led by Chairman of Marubeni Corporation, Teruo Asada, of Japan Pakistan Business Cooperation Committee (JPBCC), the counterpart of PJBF in Japan, said a statement issued here on Monday. Advisor on Commerce, Textile, Industry & Production and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood represented Pakistan. Parliamentary Vice Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) Akimasa Ishikawa represented the Government of Japan. The dialogue was followed by a seminar by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and later by one to one meeting with various Japanese conglomerates and infrastructure support companies, including SME Support and Japan Productivity Centre. PJBF delegates participated in all the meetings. In the Joint Dialogue, 58 Japanese companies participated whilst 17 from Pakistan participated. At the seminar 143 Japanese personnel attended and a lot of enthusiasm was exhibited by the participants who saw Pakistan as a potential destiny for trade and investment. Speakers elaborated on the strategic location coupled with a population of over 200 million with 60 percent under the age of 30 years and a growing middle class with an increasing purchasing power. The Japanese investors were informed about the low production costs and availability of abundant natural resources supported by a liberal investment regime.