Turkey and Japan aim to strengthen bilateral cooperation on multilateral platforms, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Saturday.
In a joint news conference with his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi, Çavuşoğlu reiterated support for Japan's candidacy for the 2023-2024 United Nations Security Council.
The Japanese diplomat said they agreed that Ankara and Tokyo will continue their close cooperation on international platforms to protect international order and work closely on nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation.
Hayashi said Japan will deepen its cooperation with Turkey in various fields to mark the 100th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Highlighting that Hayashi's visit is the second visit from Japan to Turkey at the foreign minister-level in the last year, Çavuşoğlu said a strategic partnership was established between the two countries in 2013.
"Our strategic partnership gets its strength from history and is based on our special, friendly ties. We will celebrate the 100th anniversary of our diplomatic relations in 2024 and have decided to start planning joint activities in this regard," he said.
Noting that Turkey introduced its Asia Anew initiative to diversify its diplomatic relations in 2019, the foreign minister underlined that the country considers Japan a "very important partner."
Çavuşoğlu said they also discussed trade, adding that an economic partnership agreement can greatly contribute in increasing the trade volume.
Expressing that they want to focus on areas such as agriculture and energy, he said: "It is important to encourage investments."
Hayashi added that they exchanged views on the Asia Anew initiative and agreed to hold a consultancy meeting on naval issues in the first half of this year.
Hayashi said they resolved to accelerate negotiations for the early conclusion of the Japan-Turkey economic partnership agreement and an agreement on social security to further strengthen bilateral economic relations.
The Japanese minister also welcomed the appointment of a rector of the Turkish Japanese Science and Technology University, adding that efforts are ongoing to open the university next year.
After the Republic of Turkey replaced the Ottoman Empire, Japan was one of the first countries with which it established diplomatic relations in 1924. One year later, Turkey opened its first embassy in Tokyo. After decades of strong relations, both countries upgraded their ties to the level of "strategic partnership" in 2013 and Japan declared 2019 as the Turkish Culture Year.
The two countries have also pursued a strong economic partnership. In addition to the high trade volume, Japan is also among the major investors in Turkey, with over 200 Japanese companies operating in the country. Recently, through its Japan International Cooperation Agency, Tokyo has been among the financiers of infrastructure projects in Istanbul, including the landmark Marmaray underwater rail link, a bridge over it and another bridge connecting the city's Asian and European sides. The agency also financed two dam projects in Turkey.
