Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and President of the Republic Aleksandar Vucic attended a reception marking 140 years of the establishment of friendly relations between the two countries, at the residence of Ambassador of Japan to Serbia Takahiko Katsumata.
On that occasion, Brnabic expressed her satisfaction that Serbia and Japan are celebrating a great anniversary in their relations – 140 years of friendly, political, social and economic ties between our two peoples, that is, 140 years since the first diplomatic correspondence between Serbian King Milan Obrenovic and Japanese Emperor Meiji in 1882.
She said that she is proud of the fact that the overall bilateral cooperation between our two countries is successfully developing in numerous areas, as well as the fact that some of the most reputable Japanese companies have recognized the comparative advantages of doing business in Serbia.
According to her, Japanese companies and investors are always welcome in our country, and we are ready to provide them with all the necessary help and support.
The Prime Minister noted that distinguished individuals from our countries have particularly contributed to the strengthening of friendly ties in various areas of political and social life, which is why they were awarded the highest state honours of the two countries.
Namely, only in 2022, honours were awarded to eminent persons on two holidays that are of the greatest importance for us – on Sretenje, the distinguished translator and philologist Hiroshi Yamasaki Vukelic received the Gold Medal for Merit, while on St Vitus Day, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was awarded the Order of the Republic Serbia on the ribbon for maintaining friendly relations and improving cooperation between the two countries.
I am convinced that with joint efforts we will continue to nurture our friendship, to resolutely strengthen and further improve the comprehensive and mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation and that in the period ahead of us we will have many more positive and significant opportunities to jointly celebrate friendship and cooperation, she said.
The Ambassador of Japan expressed deep respect for the entire Serbian people and their ancestors, who made a huge contribution to improving relations with Japan.
He said that the meeting between former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Vucic in Belgrade in 2018 paved the way for further strengthening partnership and bilateral cooperation on the regional and international level, while Prime Minister Brnabic’s visit to Tokyo in 2019 gave impetus to the improvement of our relations.
Source: srbija.gov.rs