Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) Chief Executive Tariq Puri, who was part of a Pakistani delegation that visited Japan last week, said while talking to the media that he had held a meeting with Aeon President Motoya Okada.
President Asif Ali Zardari also met Okada and persuaded him to buy Pakistani products for his stores. As a result, Aeon will send its delegation before October, at the start of their buying season.
Giving details of meetings with top Japanese entrepreneurs and trading houses such as Marubeni and Mitsubishi, Puri said it was decided that these houses would also market Pakistani products in the Japanese market.
He added that Pakistan would start full-scale exports of mangoes from next season, after the Japanese government lifted a ban on the import of Pakistani mangoes.
Rice exporters have sought Japanese technology for extracting oil from rice husk and making noodles, crackers and snacks from broken rice.
Puri pointed out that Zardari has also asked Japanese importers to buy Pakistani textile goods because they are diverting their procurement from China to other countries due to high prices. “The Japanese will consider buying textile items from us, as our quality and prices are superior to other regional countries,” he explained.
Talking about a breakthrough in negotiations, Puri said that Pakistan had been successful in including the demand for the creation of an inter-governmental framework for trade in the joint statement. This is likely to lead to implementation of a free trade agreement (FTA) between Japan and Pakistan.
During the visit, Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) Chairman Yasuo Hayashi assured Zardari that his organisation would facilitate participation of Pakistani delegations in leading Japanese exhibitions at concessional rates.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 1st, 2011.
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