MINSK, 6 December (BelTA) – In 2019 the status of the head of the Japanese diplomatic mission in Belarus will be raised to the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. Currently the embassy is headed by Japan's charge d'affaires ad interim, Chairman of the International Affairs and National Security Commission of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Sergei Rakhmanov said at a function held on 5 December to mark the 85th birthday of the Japanese Emperor, BelTA has learned.
The chairman of the commission emphasized positive dynamics in Belarusian-Japanese all-round cooperation, including in the economic sector. Sergei Rakhmanov named several projects that Japan and Belarus will implement together. According to him, Japan will invest in a large-scale production project at the Belarusian Steel Plant.
Cooperation in high technology looks very promising as well. Belarus and Japan are implementing a project to model natural disasters using artificial intelligence.
Speaking about bilateral contacts, Sergei Rakhmanov noted that a high-level visit is being currently prepared.
Charge d'Affaires of Japan to Belarus Hiroki Tokunaga stressed that the two countries have been steadily developing relations in every area of cooperation. In his words, this year the number of Belarusians visiting Japan has increased 1.5 times. The diplomat stated that the 2020 Olympic Games and the World Expo 2025 will contribute to a further increase in the number of Belarusian citizens visiting Tokyo.
Hiroki Tokunaga emphasized that over the past 14 years the Japanese government has been providing grant assistance to Belarus and the Chernobyl-affected areas in particular. The diplomat also focused particular attention on the effective cooperation of Belarus and Japan in the international arena.
