Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari meets Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo. Photo courtesy Foreign Office
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday called on Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo, where he is currently on a four-day official visit, and discussed matters of mutual interests.
According to a statement issued by the Foreign Office, Bhutto-Zardari conveyed greetings from the government and people of Pakistan to the Japanese leader. It said both leaders had expressed a desire to further enhance bilateral engagement and cooperation in different fields between their countries. The foreign minister also met his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi, telling a joint press conference that they had explored the possibility of working together on targeted programs with higher impact in the domains of solarization, desalination and water purification, and housing and infrastructure rebuilding in flood-hit areas of Pakistan.
He said they had also agreed to conduct skill assessment tests for the Japanese language in Pakistan to facilitate the movement of a skilled workforce. “We also deliberated on investments and joint ventures by Japanese enterprises in Pakistan,” he said, adding that the two sides must stay engaged at all levels to further positive dialogue and continue exploring more avenues of cooperation.
The foreign minister also addressed an event hosted by the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) on ‘Pakistan and Japan in the Asian Context,’ stressing that the two countries could create a robust and efficient infrastructure network, boost regional connectivity, and enhance trade volumes through collaboration. Noting that even though Pakistan and Japan did not share any borders, Bhutto-Zardari said they nonetheless shared important convergences in terms of outlook and vision for Asia.
“As a developing country facing serious economic and environmental challenges, Pakistan simply does not have time for the Cold War-style bloc politics that sadly seem to be making a comeback. We want to focus on delivering jobs and prosperity to our 230 million people—two-thirds of whom are below 30 years of age,” he said, referring to ongoing indications of “blocs” developing in the world, with one led by China and the other by the U.S. The best means to achieve this goal, he said, was by leveraging their strategic location at the crossroads of Central and South Asia to foster economic connectivity and generate growth.
“This vision is the moving force behind our shift from geopolitics to geo-economics. This is not just a rhetorical change but is rooted in the realization that business-as-usual is no longer an option,” he said, adding that Pakistan considered the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) an important part of this vision for enhanced connectivity. He noted Chinese investments in the power sector had helped address crippling electricity cuts nationwide, which had severely hampered industries in Pakistan. However, he stressed, the benefits availed through CPEC were not restricted to any single country.
“Japanese firms have experience of working successfully and profitably in Pakistan. Their expertise in building infrastructure is second to none,” he said, reiterating that economic complementarities between Pakistan and Japan were vast and multifaceted. By capitalizing on each other’s strengths, they could create a win-win situation, resulting in shared prosperity and growth,” he added. “There is immense potential for collaboration in trade, investment, agriculture, infrastructure and services. Let us seize this opportunity to build stronger ties, promote bilateral cooperation, and forge a brighter future for our countries, the region, and the generations to come,” he stressed.
Bhutto-Zardari said he also hoped for Japanese assistance in developing Pakistan’s “blue” economy pertaining to its maritime interests.
Acknowledging that Pakistan’s bid for regional connectivity and trade was unlikely to succeed until lasting peace and stability were achieved in South Asia, he stressed that Islamabad’s position had never wavered. “There can be no peace in South Asia until the region’s core dispute—that of Jammu and Kashmir—is resolved through dialogue and in accordance with the U.N. Security Council resolutions and the principles of international law,” he said, stressing Islamabad had always been ready to work toward such a resolution but lacked a partner for peace in South Asia.
“India is in the grip of a form of religious hysteria that has closed out any space for dialogue and diplomacy,” he said, lamenting that it was “disappointing” that the international community turned a blind eye to India’s oppression in Kashmir and its provocations against a much smaller neighbor.
On Afghanistan, the foreign minister he said that Pakistan and Japan had similar interests in the war-torn state and called for aligning these efforts to achieve a stable, secure, and prosperous Afghanistan. “Japan’s expertise in development assistance and Pakistan’s geographical proximity to Afghanistan can create opportunities for joint efforts in providing humanitarian aid and promoting sustainable development,” he said, while reiterating that Islamabad believed “patient and pragmatic” engagement with the Afghan interim government was needed to achieve the global community’s shared interests in the region.
Pakistan and Japan could also work together to strengthen the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), he said, adding that they could also work on issues of regional importance such as conflict resolution, poverty alleviation, climate change, and global health. He also thanked Japan for pledging $77 million in aid for post-flood reconstruction and rehabilitation in Pakistan. “We also hope that Japan would urge the developed economies to fulfil their responsibilities towards developing countries that have a negligible carbon footprint but suffer disproportionately from the effects of climate change,” he added.