ISLAMABAD: Minister for Industries, Production and Special Initiatives Mian Manzoor Wattoo has said the Gawadar Port is ideal for Japanese investment.

In a meeting with Japanese Ambassador to Pakistan Seiji Kojima here on Wednesday, Wattoo said: "Japan can invest in petrochemicals, heavy engineering, food processing, metal works, steel products and other export-oriented industries."

He said Pakistan was strategically located at a regional hub, having abundant natural and human resources. "Thus it offers tremendous investment opportunities to countries like Japan," the minister added.

Wattoo said Japan was one of the leading donor countries providing economic aid to Pakistan. "It has played an important role in Pakistan's development through economic and technical

assistance," he said, adding: "We want Japan to invest more in Pakistan."

Ambassador Seiji Kojima told the minister that Japan was already working in cooperation with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA). "Japan is more focused on developing the infrastructure in Pakistan," the envoy said. Kojima also told Wattoo that a Japanese company, YKK, was setting up two plastic mould centres in Lahore and Karachi.