|
On January 25, DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada received a courtesy call from Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Nickolay Mladenov, and exchanged opinions on a variety of issues. The meeting was also attended by Administration Committee Chair Makoto Taki and International Department Director-General Chinami Nishimura for the DPJ.
At the start of the meeting, Okada welcomed Mladenov, and said, “I heard that you had meaningful discussions with Prime Minister Kan and Minister for Foreign Affairs Maehara yesterday. I myself was Minister for Foreign Affairs until a little while ago. Bulgaria is a country that I am interested in and I had hoped to be able to pay a visit should I have the opportunity, but unfortunately I was unable to make a visit as foreign minister. Now I am involved with management of the party, so I hope we will be able to enjoy a frank exchange of opinions.”
Mladenov responded, “It is a pity that you were unable to visit Bulgaria as Minister for Foreign Affairs.” He went on to explain that this visit to Japan by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov was his first visit to Asia. Mladenov said that Bulgaria was currently emphasizing economic development, starting with clean energy and nuclear power generation, and expressed the desire to strengthen relations with Japan.
|
