Belarus and Japan celebrate the 27th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations
In 2019, Belarus and Japan celebrated the 27th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. In this regard, the holding of the second Belarus-Japan Economic Forum is scheduled for September of this year.
Japanese companies have a positive experience of cooperation with Belarusian enterprises such as Atlant, Horizont, Svetlogorsk Khimvolokno, Mozyr Oil Refinery, Tabak-Invest, Grodno Tobacco Factory Neman, etc. The turnover of residents of FEZ Grodnoinvest with Japan amounts to 627 thousand US dollars, 99% consists of the export of a resident of the FEZ TERRAZIT PLUS. In total, in the first quarter of 2019, the residents of FEZ exported products to 51 countries for $ 229 million, which is 26% more than the same period last year.
In an interview with BelTA, the Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus to Japan, Australia and New Zealand noted that over the past years, the trade balance with Japan was negative for Belarus, the reason is the lack of a legal framework. The joint work of embassies, as well as the holding of significant economic events in 2018 contributed to the development of trade and economic cooperation between both countries and, as a result, led to a significant increase of exports of Belarusian products to Japan in the first half of 2019.
In order to intensify the turnover between the countries, the possibility of holding of a second Belarusian-Japanese economic forum in the framework of the Belarusian Industrial Forum on September 17-18, 2019 in Minsk is discussed. The first Belarusian-Japanese economic forum was held in Tokyo and Osaka on May 10-11, 2018, co-organized by the State Agency for National Investment and Privatization and the Mogilev Regional Executive Committee.