At the opening of the embassy, attended by Japan’s State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kazuyuki Nakane, the president also extended an invitation to Prime Minister Shinzō Abe to visit to Cyprus.

The visit by Nakane, he said, in conjunction with the embassy’s opening “is a testament to the qualitative upgrading we have been witnessing these past few years in the relationship between our two countries.”

He said that the necessary preparations for Cyprus’ embassy in Tokyo to be fully operational by the end of the year.

During a meeting he held earlier with Nakane, Anastasiades said, they reaffirmed their commitment to encouraging more high-level exchanges and visits between officials from both governments, as well as increase in people-to-people contacts.

They also agreed to explore new areas of beneficial joint ventures, particularly in the areas of tourism, trade, investments, culture and merchant shipping.

He also welcomed the Economic Partnership Agreement signed last week between the EU and Japan.

Nakane said that Japan and Cyprus as island countries benefit from the rules under international law for free and open seas, and both countries are seeking peace and stability in their region. “We would like to work together to consolidate international law at sea,” he said.

Cyprus, he said, is a member of the EU and at the same time is close to the Middle East, and Japan attaches great importance to the geopolitical role of Cyprus, and for that reason decided to establish an embassy in Nicosia.

“With the establishment of our embassy, I hope to further strengthen the cooperation between the two countries,” Nakane said.

Source: Cyprus Mail