Speaker of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies Marcel Ciolacu said on Monday that Romania and Japan have a duty to continue all the political and business projects they started, the most important of which is making formal a strategic partnership between the two countries, according to Agerpres.

„Romania and Japan have a duty to continue all the political and business projects they have started. That is the message I sent to the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, during the meeting I and Romania’s Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca had with him. The most important objective is to succeed in speeding up making formal the strategic partnership between our two countries, a solid partnership based on four main directions: politics, security, economy, and culture and science. I am convinced that this partnership will strengthen the direction of Romania to be a strong and credible partner of Japan, both in advancing bilateral relations and in terms of its ties with NATO and the European Union,” Ciolacu wrote on Facebook.

He told Kishida that he would like one of the stations that will make up the future Bucharest subway line to Otopeni to bear the name of late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, „as a sign of respect and gratitude for the intense efforts he has made to over time in the consolidation of relations between Romania and Japan.”

„Furthermore, I welcomed Prime Minister Kishida’s message of unity regarding the need for democratic states that share common values and visions to act in one voice internationally to give a strong and firm retort to all those who dare disregard peace, democracy and freedom,” Ciolacu said.

Chamber Speaker Ciolacu and PM Ciuca are in Japan from Monday to Wednesday to attend the state funeral in honour of late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Agerpres