Polish and Japanese PMs meet in Bratislava
Prime Ministers of Poland and Japan Mateusz Morawiecki and Shinzo Abe, who met on Wednesday in Bratislava, agreed after the meeting to strive for a free-trade agreement between EU and Japan to take effect, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported on Thursday.
Morawiecki and Abe came to Slovakia to take part on Thursday in the extended formula of the summit of leaders from the Visegrad Four -- Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.
During the Wednesday talks, the two PMs also reportedly discussed North Korea and shared the view that North Korea must respect U.N. Security Council resolutions on the country's nuclear development, according to Kyodo.
The Japanese leader also sought Poland's cooperation in helping resolve the issue of Pyongyang's abductions of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s. Morawiecki promised cooperation and help in this matter, the agency reported.
Speaking to PAP on Wednesday, Poland's Deputy Foreign Minister for European Affairs Konrad Szymański, pointed out that the Morawiecki and Abe meeting confirms the very good condition of the Polish-Japanese strategic partnership. "An important context of the talks is the 100th anniversary of establishing bilateral relations and the political contacts and visits planned in the nearest future," he stressed.
Szymański pointed out that Japan has been one of the most important strategic partners of the Visegrad Group countries for about 10 years, which in the case of Poland translates into investments of USD 887 million annually, generating around 40,000 jobs and trade turnover of USD 4.8 billion in 2018. (PAP)
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