Japan sees Turkey as important strategic partner in region, world, says envoy

Japan's ambassador to Ankara said yesterday that Turkey and Japan are important strategic partners not only bilaterally, but also in the region and globally.

Speaking at the opening of the Japan-Turkey joint seminar titled "Change in the global order: Actors, regions and issues" in the Turkish capital, Akio Miyajima praised the historic relations, stating that the two countries are important strategic partners who help each other.

"We are and will be very important strategic partners in the efforts of peace and prosperity, bilaterally, regionally and globally," he said.

Emphasizing that the gravity of the world economy has been shifting to the Asian region since the 1980s, Miyajima said for the prosperity of Turkey, it "must double its efforts to engage and connect with Asia."

"Japan aims for peace, stability and prosperity across the vast areas between Asian and African countries by promoting fundamental values such as democracy and the rule of law, including connectivity and providing capacity in building assistance through free and opening doors [in the] Pacific," he said.

Miyajima added that he is looking forward to inputs for cooperation between Japan and Turkey on this strategy during the panels.

Recalling the official visit of Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu to Japan on Nov. 4-6, Miyajima said that important meetings were held in terms of Turkish-Japanese relations.

Also speaking at the opening, Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim Kıran praised the historic cooperation between the two countries.

Underlining the importance of Asia in the global world, Kıran said that the rapid development of Asian economies was considered one of the most impressive developments in world economic history.

He said there were 227 Japanese companies operating in Turkey and they aim to increase this number.

Pointing to the increasing instability in the global world, Kiran added, "We need more stability and reliability than ever in the global world."

He went on to say that there are global challenges such as terrorism, radicalism, illegal migration, inequality, humanitarian crisis which are "serious concerns."

"Peace and prosperity in developed parts of the world is not sustainable when the rest of humanity is suffering from hunger and poverty," he added.

The seminar is being held for the fifth time since 2014, with the participation of prominent Japanese and Turkish scholars. The events are organized by TOBB University of Economics and Technology in cooperation with the Japanese Embassy in Ankara to enhance dialogue on global issues

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