Dr. Zahid Anwar Khan (IR Expert): Pakistan wants friendly relations with all countries of the world. Japan is a very influential country of the world and Asia. Pakistan needs industrial technology and knowledge to build its economy and is seeking Japanese cooperation in this regard. Japan can also play a role in developing the capacity of Pakistani institutions in meeting the modern day challenges. As Pakistan is a victim of climate change, it can also benefit from Japanese expertise in tackling such issues as Japan lies on an active fault line and has faced massive earthquakes in past. Pakistan is also a big market of Japanese cars and both countries can work together to set up new car plants in the country. The visit of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will pave the way of further strengthening the bilateral relations between Pakistan and Japan.

Ali Sarwar Naqvi (IR Expert): Japan and Pakistan enjoy long standing and good relations. Japan has always provided economic assistance to Pakistan in hour of need. Japanese investors are already investing in different sectors of Pakistan’s economy. The visit of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will further augment relations between the two countries. Pakistan has recently signed staff level agreement with IMF and now it is looking towards foreign funding from other sources. Japan is member of all the major financial institutions and can help arrange funding for Pakistan.