Press Releases
Working Dinner between State Minister for Foreign Affairs HORII and Minister Romero of the Plurinational State of Bolivia
March 24, 2026
On March 23, commencing at 6:30 p.m. for approximately 2 hours, Mr. HORII Iwao, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a working dinner with H.E. Mr. José Fernando Romero Pinto, Minister of Development Planning and Environment of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, who was visiting Japan as part of the FY2025 ministerial-level invitation program. The overview of the meeting is as follows:
- State Minister HORII welcomed Minister Romero’s visit to Japan. Referring to his visit to Bolivia as Special Envoy to attend President Paz’s inauguration in November 2025, he expressed his expectations to further strengthen bilateral relations. He also stated that, based on the traditional friendship between the two countries and Bolivia’s abundant potential, Bolivia’s prosperity is linked to Japan’s prosperity, and that Japan would continue to cooperate for Bolivia’s sustainable development based on trust.
- Minister Romero stated the historical relations between Japan and Bolivia. He expressed his gratitude for the invitation as well as for Japan’s international cooperation to date. He emphasized the Paz administration’s new policy to strength the bilateral relationship to open Bolivia to the world and bring the world to Bolivia. He conveyed his hopes for private investment from Japanese companies.
- State Minister HORII referred to his visits to the San Juan and Okinawa Japanese immigrant settlements in Bolivia, and the two ministers exchanged views on the contributions of the Nikkei community to the Bolivian economy and on ways to further strengthen cooperative ties.