The Embassy of Pakistan in Japan, in collaboration with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), hosted the Pakistan Business Seminar 2025 at the Embassy of Pakistan in Tokyo. The event was attended by more than 50 representatives from prominent Japanese corporations, trading houses, financial institutions, and innovation-focused agencies.
The seminar opened with welcome remarks by Ambassador Abdul Hameed, who reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to fostering long-term, trust-based commercial partnerships with Japan. He underlined Pakistan’s progress in improving safety, economic stability, and investor facilitation, and addressed Japanese concerns with transparency and clarity. The Ambassador emphasised that Pakistan seeks a stable, predictable partnership grounded in consistency, transparency, and mutually aligned economic interests.
JETRO Karachi’s Country Representative, Mr. Masatomo Itonaga, delivered a comprehensive overview of the current business landscape in Pakistan. His briefing covered macroeconomic trends, sectoral growth drivers, policy reforms implemented under IMF-supported programs, and the evolving investment climate for Japanese companies. He also highlighted existing Japan–Pakistan trade patterns and noted that 68 Japanese companies are currently operating in Pakistan across various sectors, including automotive, machinery, logistics, finance, food, and services.
The seminar continued with a presentation by Ms. Madiha Ali, Trade and Investment Counsellor, titled “Pakistan as Japan’s Next Growth Partner: Government Facilitation, Joint Ventures & New Market Opportunities.” She identified food supply chains, digital and engineering services, and minerals as three key sectors where Japan’s structural requirements for 2025–2035 align strongly with Pakistan’s strengths. She outlined practical models for cooperation, including co-development frameworks, midstream processing ventures, and risk-diversification strategies. She also highlighted dedicated facilitation mechanisms such as the Special Investment Facilitation Council, the Board of Investment, the Pakistan Single Window, and the Special Technology Zones Authority.
Ms. Zahra Dastgir, Community Welfare Attaché, presented an assessment of Pakistan’s human resource potential, focusing on the country’s demographic strengths, the depth of its ICT engineering talent, and the expanding pool of workers trained under Japan’s Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) and Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) schemes. She noted Pakistan’s strong English proficiency and the high competency ratings of its ICT professionals under Japan’s i-Competency standards.
The event concluded with an interactive Q&A session followed by a networking high-tea, providing Japanese participants an opportunity to directly engage with the Embassy’s economic team. The Embassy stated that this seminar forms part of a structured series of engagements leading up to the Pakistan–Japan Government–Business Joint Dialogue. Insights gathered during the session will contribute to Pakistan’s preparations and help advance practical, outcome-oriented cooperation with Japan in priority sectors.
