Japan interested in Three Seas Initiative partnership

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, right, poses with Polish President Andrzej Duda for a photo ahead of their meeting at the Akasaka State Guest Hous​e in Tokyo Saturday, July 24, 2021. (Franck Robichon/Pool Photo via AP)
By Grzegorz Adamczyk
2 Min Read

During President Andrzej Duda’s state visit to Tokyo, PM Yoshihide Suga affirmed that Japan is interested in participating in the Three Seas Initiative. This means that Japan could become the Three Seas’ next international partner, alongside the United States and Germany. Andrzej Duda emphasized that the Japanese government considers cooperation with Poland to be strategically important.

“I am glad because the Japanese PM heavily underscored the strategic role of cooperating with Poland when it comes to Central Europe and the European Union,” Duda said. He added that PM Suga emphasized the Japanese government’s high interest in Poland’s activity as part of the Three Seas. Duda and Suga also discussed security issues associated with Russia and China’s actions.

The support of the Japanese government would be a green light for Japanese companies to invest in the region in areas of cybersecurity, infrastructure and energy.

Poland is also striving for Japan’s participation in the Polish energy transformation process. Meanwhile, Japan wants to gain the EU’s support (through Poland and the Visegrad Four) for the idea of a free trade zone in the Indian Ocean region. Such a zone would connect the developing countries of South Asia and East Africa.

During the first day of his visit to Japan, President Duda also attended an audience with Japanese Emperor Naruhito.

Poland and Japan have been connected by a strategic partnership since 2015. As part of this partnership, regular meetings are being held between leaders and ministers of both states. These meetings concern talks on political, economic, scientific, and cultural cooperation.

Poland expects the Japanese PM to visit Warsaw soon.

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