Pakistan regards Japan as a close friend : Marriyum Aurangzeb

Lahore : Pakistan regards Japan as a close friend and a reliable economic partner, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Minister of State for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage stated during a meeting with Japanese Ambassador to Pakistan, Takashi Kurai who called on her here Thursday.

She said that Pakistan looks forward to greater level of cooperation between the two countries particularly in the fields of media, trade, investment, infrastructure, energy and capacity building of institutions. She said that ministerial level visits with Japan have been satisfactory and these exchanges could help in building the momentum to further enhance bilateral relations for mutual benefit of the people of both countries.

“We welcome companies like Yamaha from Japan to invest in Pakistan that will enhance the capacity of our industrial sector to produce value added goods,” she said.

During a meeting between Marriyum Aurangzeb and Takashi Kurai, cooperation in the field of media, information and broadcasting came under discussion.

Both, the minister of state and ambassador emphasized the need to learn from each other’s experiences and best practices particularly in the field of media and replicate them in their respective domains.

Marriyum Aurangzeb said that Government believed in freedom of expression and introduced RTI Bill in Parliament to ensure people’s access to information which is indeed an imperative for any democratic society. She said that the Government is committed to facilitate the growth of independent media in Pakistan and would utilize all its resources for their training, professional development and capacity building.

Protection and welfare of journalists is our top priority and a bill for their safety and security would be presented in the Parliament soon, she added.

Minister of State also shared with the Japanese Ambassador that the Government is now actively working on a proposal of institutionalized training programs for media persons to enhance their professional skills and development. The ambassador welcomed the idea and said that Government of Japan would be ready to extend any cooperation in that regard.