The newly appointed ambassador of Japan to Serbia, Akira Imamura, stated that his role in Belgrade is to enable Serbia to record a drastic increase in Japanese investments, as happened two decades ago in Poland and the Czech Republic.
The ambassador also emphasized that his focus will be on the implementation of the Initiative for cooperation with the Western Balkans, which was announced in Belgrade in 2018 by the assassinated Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
“One of the reasons is that there are two large Japanese trading companies that are always looking for opportunities to expand. Another element is the export of goods and services to the European market. This contributes not only to bilateral exchange, but also to Serbian exports” the ambassador said.
“Some say that this pattern can be repeated in Serbia and my role is to make it possible,” said Imamura and added that last week he had an online meeting with members of the Japan Federation of Big Business to whom he presented investment opportunities in Serbia, highlighting a successful case Toyo Tires, which has a huge factory in India.
He reminds that the Japanese business model is based on establishing long-term partnership relations, on trust, and also on providing high-quality products and services. He also stated that Japan’s goal is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 through huge investments in innovation and advanced technology, and that they wish to share this with Serbia. “I know that Japanese companies hope to contribute to the green transition of Serbia and the diversification of energy sources. And my role is again to facilitate that process through diplomatic efforts,” he said.
