ForMin Aurescu meets Japanese counterpart

Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu on Sunday held a bilateral meeting with his counterpart from Japan, Toshimitsu Motegi, on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Foreign Affairs Ministers (ASEM) meeting in Madrid, the main topic of discussion being the preparations for the launch, in 2021, of the Strategic Partnership between the two countries. 

The main topic of the dialogue was the preparations for the launch, in 2021, of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and Japan, as decided by the President of Romania, Mr. Klaus Iohannis, and the Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Shinzo Abe, during the talks they had in January 2018, in Bucharest, respectively in October 2019, on the occasion of President Iohannis' participation in the enthronement ceremonies of the Emperor of Japan. In this sense, the two foreign affairs ministers agreed to intensify the bilateral consultations to finalize the document that will be the basis of the Strategic Partnership, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) says. 

The two ministers also discussed security cooperation, including missile defence, as well as organizing a series of common cultural events to mark the centenary of diplomatic relations in 2021. 

The head of the Romanian diplomacy noted the very good cooperation within the regional and international forums, in the spirit of the values shared by the two countries. 

Minister Bogdan Aurescu also conveyed Romania's interest in cooperation in the field of development assistance regarding projects in the Republic of Moldova, the Western Balkans or in other regions, the MAE informs. 

The two ministers exchanged assessments and opinions on the situation in the Republic of Moldova, the Black Sea, the Western Balkans, the South China Sea, the East China Sea and the Korean Peninsula. 

''Bogdan Aurescu invited his counterpart to pay a visit to Romania, an invitation accepted with pleasure by the Japanese Foreign Affairs Minister,'' the MAE mentions.