2018.29.3 Attendance at the Cherry Blossoms Reception Hosted by MAFF

Attendance at the Cherry Blossoms Reception Hosted by MAFF

March 29, 2018: It was a great pleasure for His Excellency Ambassador Dr. Bashir Mohabbat in attending the Cherry Blossoms Reception hosted by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan at Sanbancho Kaigisho in Tokyo.

H.E. Ambassador Dr. Mohabbat had the pleasure in again meeting and conversing with His Excellency Minister Mr. Ken Saito, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, to whom he expressed his gratitude for the kind invitation to attend the splendid event. In return, H.E Minister Saito thanked H.E. Dr. Mohabbat for attending. H.E. Dr. Mohabbat extended his sincere thanks, on behalf of the people and Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan for providing extensive assistance to Afghanistan's agricultural sector. As Afghanistan is aiming to be self-sufficient and self-sustainable in rice cultivation by 2021, the extensive assistance from MAFF has played a large role in this goal. This would allow Afghanistan to better their balance of export and imports for a stable and long-lasting economic growth.

Also in attendance were several of Their Excellencies, Heads of Missions, and Diplomats with missions in Japan, members of parliament, leading businesspeople, and other dignified guests, several of whom H.E. Dr. Mohabbat met with and discussed many topics of mutual interest.

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2018.19.3 Attendance at the "Towards One Trillion Yen in Agricultural Exports" Briefing

Attendance at the "Towards One Trillion Yen in Agricultural Exports" Briefing

March 19, 2018: His Excellency Ambassador Dr. Bashir Mohabbat had the pleasure of attending the "Towards One Trillion Yen in Agricultural Exports" Briefing, briefed by Mr. Ken Saito, Minister of Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery Japan, at the Foreign Press Center Japan. Also in attendance was Mr. Asif Agah, Second Secretary of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Japan.

This briefing was about Japan increasing it's agricultural and food products export to one trillion in 2019. There has been an increasing demand for Japanese agricultural and food products in the overseas market due to it's health benefits and it's higher quality. The increasing market has been seen in the three-day expo held last year with 2,800 representative buyers from 70 different countries and regions. With expected buyers to grow to 4,000 this year. Japanese green tea has been on large demand overseas due to it's health benefits.

As Afghanistan is mostly an import based country, Afghanistan can benefit from Japanese imports. Especially with green tea, both cultures share green tea culture. With increasing popularity with fresh and dried fruits Afghanistan can increase it's diversity in it's fruits market with the help of Japanese market export. This can increase not only cultural ties but economic ties between Afghanistan and Japan.

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