ISLAMABAD: To celebrate the 63rd birthday of Emperor Naruhito, the Japanese Ambassador Wada Mitsuhiro hosted a reception at a local hotel in Islamabad on Thursday.

Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, minister for human rights, was the chief guest at the reception that featured a traditional drum presentation.

The performance was a show stopper in which Japanese children showcased their flamboyant skills, control and speed.

The reception was attended by ministers, parliamentarians, senior government officials, members of the diplomatic community and other dignitaries from the public and private sectors.

Ambassador Wada Mitsuhiro together with the distinguished guests cut a cake to mark the emperor’s birthday, which was on Feb 23. All those present, congratulated Ambassador Wada Mitsuhiro on his birthday.

Since his accession to the throne on May 1, 2019 as the 126th ruler of Japan, Emperor Naruhito, stood as a symbol of Japan and unity among people. The emperor and the imperial family facilitated good relations with foreign countries including Pakistan.

Welcoming guests on the occasion, Ambassador Wada Mitsuhiro stressed Japanese businesses’ high expectation in new business opportunities in Pakistan, referring to recent investments by Japanese companies.

The ambassador also emphasised that among the approximately $77 million that was announced at the Geneva Conference, around half of its humanitarian and rehabilitation assistance had already been disbursed. He expressed his gratitude towards the people of Pakistan for showing their trust and affinity towards Japan and spoke about their commitment to continue their efforts to further strengthen bilateral relations.

Mr Pirzada extended felicitations to the government and people of Japan on the joyous occasion. “Japanese people are known for their deep respect for traditions and their untiring commitment towards innovation,” he said.

Over the decades, Japan had contributed towards Pakistan’s socio-economic development with assistance worth $13 billion.

He further expressed that Pakistan was particularly grateful to the people and government of Japan for its assistance in the aftermath of devastating floods in Pakistan in 2022, especially for the support that Japan extended during the Resilient Pakistan Conference held in Geneva in January 2023.

He stated that Pakistan and Japan always had friendly bilateral relations in political, economic, scientific, educational domains.

“Pakistan was keen to take this relationship to a new and higher level of cooperation, with particular focus on economic and business ties, human resource development initiatives, defence, cultural and people-to-people contacts,” he said.

The minister affirmed that Japanese companies had made remarkable contributions in the development of Pakistan-Japan and investment relations. “Pakistan and Japan have also signed two memoranda of cooperation for collaboration in capacity building and manpower exports to Japan. These MOCs aim to pave the way for skilled Pakistani workers to make important contributions towards the economic development of Japan,” he said.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2023