ISTANBUL

Pakistan and Japan will focus on trade, investment, technology, and tourism to boost bilateral relations, top diplomats of the two nations agreed on Monday.

The announcement came during Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's official four-day trip to Japan, where he held meetings with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi.

“We have agreed to further deepen and exchange our mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation in areas of trade, investment, human resource development, information technology, tourism and agriculture,” Bilawal told a joint news conference streamed live in Tokyo after his meeting with Hayashi.

FM @BBhuttoZardari called on Japanese Prime Minister @kishida230. He conveyed greetings from the Government and people of Pakistan. Both leaders expressed the desire to further enhance engagement and cooperation in different fields.#PakFMinJapan

🇵🇰🤝🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/EX07x79SZA

— Spokesperson 🇵🇰 MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) July 3, 2023

Bilawal stressed that Japan and Pakistan have a longstanding friendship and a “special bond."

The two sides, he added, agreed to “conduct language skills assessment tests for (the) Japanese language in Pakistan” in order to facilitate the mobility of skilled workers between the two countries.

Bilawal will also meet Japan's National Security Advisor Takeo Akiba.

“Pakistan and Japan enjoy a long-standing time-tested relationship characterized by warmth, cordiality and commonality of views on issues,” Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.