Japan-Poland Relations
Courtesy call on President Duda of the Republic of Poland by Foreign Minister Motegi
On May 6, commencing at 3:30 p.m. (local time, 10:30 p.m., May 6, JST) for approximately 1 hour, Mr. MOTEGI Toshimitsu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, who was visiting Poland, paid a courtesy call on H.E. Dr. Andrej DUDA, President of the Republic of Poland. The overview is as follows.
- At the beginning, Minister Motegi stated that he was pleased with the opportunity to visit Warsaw during Poland’s V4 presidency and would like to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries. President Duda welcomed Minister Motegi’s visit, stating that he has a special attachment to Japan through such events as the visit to Poland by Their Imperial Highnesses Crown Prince and Crown Princess Akishino in 2019 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
- Minister Motegi stated that Japan places importance on Poland as a major power in the Central and Eastern Europe with a growing presence in the EU, and that Japan would like to work with Poland to further advance fundamental values, such as freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. They shared the view to develop cooperation in various fields such as economic issues including energy and climate change countermeasures.
- President Duda explained the Three Seas Initiative, which has been led by Poland. In response, Minister Motegi noted that the Three Seas Initiative is a meaningful endeavor which will promote the Japan-EU Connectivity Partnership and the unity of Europe. President Duda hoped that Japan would be actively involved in this initiative.
- Minister Motegi welcomed the “EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific” as EU’s strong will to engage with the Indo-Pacific. In response, President Duda expressed his strong support for the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” and they shared the view to promote their cooperation.
- They also exchanged views on China and shared the view on the importance of maintaining and strengthening a free and open international order based on the rule of law.
[Note 1] V4 (Visegrád 4)
A framework for regional cooperation comprising of Poland (currently the chair), Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. It was founded in 1991 in Visegrád, Hungary. In addition to dialogues held between leaders, foreign ministers, and senior officials, cooperation in the framework “V4 + Japan” is also being promoted in a wide range of fields such as science and technology, third country support, disaster prevention, and the environment.
[Note 2] Three Seas Initiative
The Three Seas Initiative was launched in 2015 under the initiative of Poland and Croatia, and aims to strengthen connectivity along a north-south axis as well as to close the gap between the East and the West in the Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic regions. The initiative focuses on infrastructure development in the energy, transport, and digital sectors in the region surrounded by the Baltic Sea, the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea. Now twelve countries including the V4 countries are the members of this forum.