Japan’s Premier visits Romania
Japans Prime Minister's visit to Bucharest adjusted due to political unrest in Romania
Daniela Budu, 17.01.2018, 13:26
Romania and Japan decided to take the necessary measures in order to turn their bilateral relation into a Strategic Partnership, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced at the end of the talks he had with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Bucharest on Tuesday. Abe came on a historic visit to Bucharest, the first paid by a Japanese high-ranking official to Romania. The relations between the two countries have reached a superior level of maturity, which will lead to stepped-up cooperation in all fields, the Romanian president believes.
Klaus Iohannis: “We have agreed that we share the same values and strategic objectives, we have similar assessments in terms of security in such a volatile environment and we also have common economic interests. I have encouraged the Japanese businesspeople to make more investments in Romania and also an increase in economic exchanges and I am glad the Prime Minister Abe came to Romania accompanied by a significant delegation of businesspeople. We’ve had a fruitful exchange of opinions on our cooperation in the field of security and we have analyzed the security situation in our regions with emphasis on the latest developments in the Black Sea region and the North-Korean file.”
Romania has a strategic geographic position and is a crucial partner for Japan, Prime Minister Shizo Abe said, underlining that the two countries share common values and principles such as freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. The Japanese official has also underlined the importance of cooperation in the economic and security fields.
According to the Japanese official, the most important thing for the Romanian economy is to consolidate its infrastructure and Japan is getting involved with all dedication in a project aimed at linking the capital city Bucharest to the Henry Coanda airport via a sixth underground line.
Prime Minister Abe has also announced visa waiver plans for the Romanian citizens. On the other hand, the Japanese official has underscored the fact that the two countries do not accept the North Korean nuclear programme and that the international community should step up pressure on this country in this respect.
The labor force quality and the IT sector are several elements that attract Japanese investors to Romania, says Norio Maruyama, director general for press and public diplomacy with the Japanese Foreign Ministry. ‘Japanese companies are interested in Romania. The quality of its labour force and the IT environment in Romania are very attractive to Japanese companies’, Maruyama explained.
Out of protocol reasons, in the wake of Romanian Prime Minister Mihai Tudose’s resignation, Shinzo Abe had to give up his meeting with government officials, but the business people who accompanied him were received by a government delegation led by Romania’s deputy Prime Minister.
