Bilateral relations between Serbia, Japan at high level

Minister of European Integration Nemanja Starović met in Belgrade today with Japanese Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia Akira Imamura, who is completing his mandate in our country.

The interlocutors exchanged views on the cooperation between Serbia and Japan to date, assessing that bilateral relations between the two countries are at a high level and that they are continuously developing in the spirit of friendship and mutual respect.

Starović thanked Ambassador Imamura for his personal engagement in further improving mutual partnership relations and highlighted the importance of Japan's development support for reform processes in Serbia, which contributes to strengthening institutional capacities and improving the everyday quality of life of citizens in many local communities in our country.

The two officials noted that the results of decades of development cooperation between Serbia and Japan, with total support exceeding €510 million, have significantly contributed to improvements in the areas of environmental protection, healthcare, education, support for small and medium-sized enterprises and infrastructure.

The Minister particularly emphasised the importance of Japanese technical and expert support in the reforms that Serbia is implementing in the process of European integration.

Ambassador Imamura also thanked Minister Starović for the very good cooperation during his mandate, highlighting Japan's readiness to continue to support Serbia's reform efforts and its path towards membership in the European Union, according to a statement from the Ministry of European Integration.