V4-Japan cooperation could contribute to post-pandemic boom, says foreign minister

Cooperation between the Visegrád Group and Japan could contribute to an economic boom in central Europe after the coronavirus pandemic, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Warsaw on Friday, during talks with his V4 and Japanese counterparts.

The four Visegrád countries have a “vested interest” in Japan’s broad involvement in the economic cooperation and infrastructure developments of the region, Szijjártó said in his address.

V4 participants in the meeting suggested that the Japanese side consider “an even deeper involvement” in central European infrastructure projects, especially in a planned high-speed railway service connecting Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland, Szijjártó said.

“For a long time we have held the view that central Europe has become the engine of European growth; reasonable political strategies have helped create the most attractive investment region of the continent,” Szijjártó said. He added that the Hungarian V4 presidency, starting in July, would focus on maintaining that position.