To promote cultural relations and to further strengthen people-to-people contacts between Japan and Pakistan, the Pakistan-Japan Friendship Forum (PJFF) has been established in Islamabad aiming to cement the friendly relationships between the two countries further. The PJFF is founded by Khalid Malik, a renowned businessman, with a vision to further strengthen the friendship between Japan and Pakistan. The inauguration ceremony was held at the official residence of Japanese Ambassador to Pakistan Takashi Kurai and was attended by the representatives of Pakistani cultural organisations, members of business community, former Pakistani alumni of Japanese universities and other important socio-cultural personalities of the capital. Japanese Ambassador Takashi Kurai while speaking at the inaugural ceremony, congratulated Khalid Malik for making tremendous efforts to establish PJFF and hoped that this forum will help further strengthen the existing friendly relations between Japan and Pakistan. Takashi Kurai said people-to-people contacts are the very foundation for the whole relationship between two countries and PJFF has been established to further promote these relationships. Ambassador Kurai hoped that the new forum of friendship will do its best for further deepening the bilateral relations between the two countries. He at the occasion also paid glowing tributes to former minister Ghulam Abbas for his dedication in promoting Pakistan-Japan relations and thanked him for donating Wadaiko drums to the Islamabad Japanese School which were made in Sialkot. PJFF Chairman Khalid Malik while speaking on the occasion said that Pakistan and Japan have potential to further promote their relationship in all fields including culture, business, education and sports. He thanked the Japanese ambassador for his support in establishing PJFF and expressed his resolve to further strengthen the friendly relations between the two countries through the platform of this forum. Published in Daily Times, September 26th 2018.