A Japanese trade delegation met with Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday to discuss bilateral trade and Japanese investment in Pakistan, officials said.

The eight-member delegation includes business representatives who attended the inaugural meeting of the Pakistan-Japan Business Forum in Karachi on Monday.

Musharraf told the delegation that Pakistan greatly values its ties with Japan, along with the development assistance Tokyo has provided for various sectors of Pakistan's economy, according to the officials.

Musharraf thanked Japan for its assistance and said that he was looking forward to increased levels of cooperation between the two countries in all areas.

Japan has been Pakistan's largest donor during the 1990s, as well as its second-largest trade partner. The volume of trade between the countries has declined since Pakistan conducted nuclear tests in May 1998.

The tests triggered a Japanese embargo on official development assistance to Pakistan.