Pak PM Khan calls for expanding bilateral cooperation with Japan

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan today expressed a desire to work closely with Japan to expand bilateral cooperation in all areas, particularly in trade, investment, economic and human development.

Khan said this after meeting Kazuyuki Nakane, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan who called on the prime minister and congratulated him on his election victory.

The Prime Minister's Office said in a statement that Nakane also conveyed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's commitment to work closely with Khan.

"Prime Minister (Khan) also extended invitation to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to visit Pakistan," the statement said.

The Prime Minister also acknowledged the role of economic assistance provided by Japan in social sector projects and said that human resource development is a priority of his government.

"Pakistan sought support in the education sector, science, technological cooperation and vocational training," said the statement.

Earlier, the Japanese minister also held talks with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and expressed his desire to further strengthen bilateral relations between Pakistan and Japan.

"While recognising the economic assistance provided by Japan, he (Qureshi) invited Japanese investment in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and assured facilitation to Japanese investors in all the sectors," a spokesman said.