In a number of Western media, the stay of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on an official visit to Tokyo has already been called a «historic event». According to some analysts, the head of the Romanian state will be able to achieve the signing of an agreement on fundamentally new partnership agreements between Japan and the North Atlantic Alliance. Is it so?
Earlier, Iohannis, known for his prudence, has repeatedly stated that his visit to Japan will be in the nature of «a trip to a country friendly to the EU». At the same time, he categorically refused to predict even the preliminary prospects for this visit. «I will try my best to adequately represent the European Union and NATO in Tokyo» – the nominal leader of Romania said diplomatically.
And he turned out to be right. Already on the first day of his official visit to Tokyo, Iohannis, at a meeting with the heads of both houses of the Japanese Parliament, agreed on the possibility of strategic cooperation between Japan and Romania. It is assumed that in the near future, on the basis of these consultations, the Japanese side will allocate additional financial resources to Bucharest to ensure the energy and military security of the Romanian state.
«Romania is an active member of the North Atlantic Alliance and is located in close proximity to the Ukrainian-Russian conflict zone, such assistance from Japan may become indispensable for individual NATO structures», American political observer William Connolly told EURO-ATLANTIC UKRAINE in a comment. «In this case, we can safely say that the Western military bloc, represented by Romania, will receive significant support from the Japanese authorities and Japanese business». The analyst did not disclose other details.
Be that as it may, Iohannis intends to discuss with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida the prospects for bilateral cooperation between Bucharest and Tokyo in the field of technical innovation. It is supposed to be the next step towards rapprochement between Japan and NATO.