TIRANA, Jan. 18 – Tokyo will assign a special ambassador to the Western Balkans, according to Japan’s Foreign Ministry representative Norio Maruyama.
This was made public during an official visit by Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Belgrade this week.
“The ambassador has not yet been appointed, but his name will become known within a few days,” Maruyama, who was part of Abe’s delegation in Serbia, told media.
Concerning the role this ambassador will play in the Western Balkans, Maruyama said his mission will be identifying the economic needs of the six Western Balkan countries and then providing for those needs.
Abe’s visit in Belgrade was the first by a Japan leader since the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1987.
“Japan has the right capacities and abilities to help, while Tokyo believes South-East Europe has great economic potential,” Maruyama added.
Japan officially opened its embassy in Tirana in July.
Japanese Ambassador Makoto Ito presented his credentials to President Bujar Nishani in June, becoming Japan’s first resident ambassador to Albania since the two countries re-established diplomatic relations in 1981.
