Opinions & Interviews

Vasily Matyushevsky noted: “I believe that the future of our relations lies with the development of full-value economic interaction. Our country boasts an advantageous geopolitical position, modern infrastructure, and highly productive and competitive agriculture. Belarus is a decent and reliable partner of Japan in the Eastern Europe region.”

The First Deputy Prime Minister mentioned the most promising avenues of cooperation between the two countries. “It seems to us we could effectively cooperate in technological, manufacturing, scientific and other areas. Belarus could become an excellent platform for developing the manufacturing of high-quality competitive Japanese products with their consequent sales in the spacious market of the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union,” stated Vasily Matyushevsky. “This is why support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Japanese government as a whole would be valuable for us. We sincerely hope for further development of our bilateral relations.”

Vasily Matyushevsky noted that this year will mark the 30^th anniversary since the Chernobyl disaster and the fifth anniversary since the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. “One would be hard pressed to find other countries as greatly affected by disasters at nuclear power plants as Belarus and Japan,” stated Vasily Matyushevsky. “In its time Japan was one of the first countries to help Belarus minimize consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. We are sincerely grateful for the support and real aid that the Japanese government has been providing to us for 30 years and continues doing so.”

In turn, upon learning about the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant Belarus immediately sent aid to the friendly Japanese nation with assistance of the International Committee of the Red Cross. “Belarus has gone a long way dealing with consequences of the Chernobyl disaster and has acquired great experience of minimizing and rehabilitating the affected territories. This is why we are sincerely ready to openly share our experience with Japan,” stressed.

Miki Yamada thanked the Belarusian government for the warm welcome and noted Japan sees Belarus as an important and reliable partner.