Foreign Minister Zaharieva in Tokyo: Bulgaria and Japan are Deepening their Cooperation in a Number of Areas

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva held a number of meetings on the first day of her visit to Japan where both countries expressed their readiness to exchange expertise in different areas, to support the Western Balkans with concrete projects, to deepen their cooperation in education, culture, sport and equality between men and women, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

"Bulgaria will not forget Japan's support during the transition period, thanks to which various projects worth more than 1.4 billion leva have been financed," Deputy Prime Minister Zaharieva said at his meeting with Shinichi Kitaoka, president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency .

"We want to continue our cooperation with projects in the Western Balkans focusing on young people and small and medium-sized enterprises," she added.

"You are a successful model for many countries, as you have become a donor after a relatively short period of receiving aid," pointed out Shinichi Kitaoka. He expressed his readiness for the Japan International Cooperation Agency to continue working with Bulgaria on various projects in the Western Balkans meeting the Sofia agenda adopted by EU leaders during the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU.

In February this year. the first Bulgarian-Japanese Initiative on the topic - a seminar on the Western Balkans on flood prevention and response to these disasters, co-organized by the Directorate-General for Fire Safety and Protection of the MoI with the Ministry of the Interior, was funded by the Bulgarian MFA within the framework of Official Development Assistance.

Ekaterina Zaharieva and Shinichi Kitaoka discussed other areas of future cooperation - training of experts, the...