- Premier Shehbaz assures facilitation for Japanese banks and investors, seeking cooperation in agriculture, IT, textiles
- Says Pakistan offers a cost-effective, competitive labour market, saying investor-friendly policies drawing global financial institutions
- MoU signed to export skilled Pakistani workers to Belarus, which extend medical and social security to workers
- PM recalls Minsk visit, saying awaits President Lukashenko’s trip to Islamabad
- Belarusian Interior Minister terms meetings with Pakistani counterparts ‘highly productive’
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday reaffirmed Pakistan’s strong commitment to strengthening diplomatic, economic, and trade ties with Japan, assuring a safe and secure environment for foreign investments.
During a meeting with Taro Kato, Director General of the Mining & Metals Finance Department at the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), the prime minister said cooperation between Pakistan and Japan in industrial and trade sectors had been constructive, and both sides were committed to renewing and expanding their economic partnership.
He assured that Pakistan would extend maximum facilitation to Japanese banks and investors, highlighting that the country could benefit immensely from Japan’s advanced technology and expertise in agriculture, IT, textiles, and other priority sectors. He noted that international financial institutions and global investors were showing growing confidence in Pakistan due to the government’s investor-friendly policies.
“Pakistan’s cost-effective labor market offers a competitive environment for international investors,” he added.
Mr.Taro Kato, DG Mining & Metals Finance Dept. Japan Bank for International Cooperation calls on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad. pic.twitter.com/mgv2ga7Gad
— APP (@appcsocialmedia) August 27, 2025
Taro Kato thanked the government and people of Pakistan for their hospitality and expressed Japan’s keen interest in further deepening economic cooperation. He said Japanese investors and banks were increasingly looking at Pakistan’s economic projects with interest.
MoU with Belarus to boost skilled workforce export: PM
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also expressed satisfaction over the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Belarus on Wednesday, enabling the export of skilled Pakistani workers to different sectors of Belarus, reported the Associated Press of Pakistan.
He said the MoU was the result of consensus achieved during his visit to Belarus earlier this year and reflected the steadily growing friendly relations between the two countries, APP said.
Minister for Internal Affairs of Belarus H.E. Ivan Kubrakov meets with Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.#ShehbazSharif #IvanKubrakov #BelarusPakistan #BilateralRelations #PakistanNews #Diplomacy #IslamabadMeetings #InteriorMinister #PakistanForeignRelations #Belarus pic.twitter.com/APVmqoUVTI
— APP (@appcsocialmedia) August 27, 2025
The prime minister expressed these views during a meeting with Belarusian Interior Minister Ivan Kubrakov, who, along with his delegation, called on him at the PM House. He warmly welcomed the Belarusian minister, recalled his visit to Minsk, and conveyed best wishes for President Aleksander Lukashenko, adding that Pakistan was looking forward to his visit to Islamabad, APP reported.
Highlighting that several agreements and MoUs were signed during his Belarus trip, the prime minister said the latest MoU would formally pave the way for sending Pakistani workers abroad.
The meeting was attended by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, Minister of State for Overseas Pakistanis Muhammad Aun Chaudhry, and senior officials.
Belarusian Interior Minister Kubrakov thanked the prime minister for the warm welcome, conveyed best wishes from President Lukashenko, and expressed his country’s desire to enhance cooperation with Pakistan in agriculture, industry, and other sectors.
Referring to his meetings with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Kubrakov termed the discussions “highly productive” for advancing bilateral relations.
Interior Minister Naqvi informed the prime minister that the Belarusian delegation also visited NADRA headquarters, while Chaudhry Salik Hussain said the signed MoU would immediately initiate the formal process of sending skilled workers to Belarus, where they would be provided medical and social security facilities.
