Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe first official visit to Bucharest

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected on Tuesday, January 16, in Bucharest, in the contex of his 12-17 diplomatic tour in the region, that also includes the Baltic countries and Serbia.

Shinzo Abe met yesterday in Sofia with his Bulgarian counterpart, Boiko Borisov, as Bulgaria currently holds the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

RRA Correspondent in Sofia, Petio Petkov, about the first visit ever made to Sofia by a Japanese Prime Minister: the two prime ministers discussed the status and perspectives of bilateral relations at political, economic, cultural and security levels.

Topics such as Japan's cooperation with the European Union, including in the context of the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement, and regional developments with a focus on the North Korean case were also addressed.

Boyko Borisov spoke about the priorities of the Bulgarian EU Presidency, among which he mentioned the expansion of the Strategic Partnership between the European Union and Japan.

The Japanese Prime Minister stressed the need to exert pressure on North Korea in order to liquidate its nuclear arsenal and rockets under the international control.

Shinzo Abe is accompanied by a delegation of business people, coming from various domains, including trade and IT, willing to identify business opportunities in the European countries which are visited by the Japanese Prime Minister for the first time.

In Bucharest, Japanese PM Shinzo Abe has scheduled talks with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Mihai Tudose.

Source:RRA.Translated by Miruna Matei