The Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis is on an official visit to Japan – the first by a Greek leader in 17 years- hoping to attract investments.
Greece hopes to develop even closer ties with Japan, Mitsotakis said in a Facebook post on soon after his arrival in the country.
“It is an important visit to one of the largest economies in the world and one with which we hope to develop even closer relations,” Mitsotakis said, with a reminder that Japanese institutional investors had stopped investing in Greek bonds during the years of the debt crisis, due to their loss of investment grade.
“Now that we are on the doorstep before regaining it, this visit is more than just timely,” he added referring to the upgrade to “BB+” of Greece’s economy by Fitch Ratings on Friday.
Mitsotakis is expected to highlight the good performance of the Greek economy in the face of multiple external crises during his visit government sources said.
Strategic cooperation between Greece and Japan
Mitsotakis on Monday met his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida at the prime minister’s residence in Tokyo, where they signed a Joint Statement of Strategic Cooperation between Greece and Japan.
“With this statement, our countries significantly upgrade their strategic relations and we inaugurate a field of close cooperation over a range of different sectors of policy: political, economic, climate, digital education, culture and tourism,” Mitsotakis said after the meeting.
He said the statement will act as a guide for bilateral cooperation in the years to come.
The joint statement enhances cooperation between Greece and Japan in areas of mutual interest.
Mitsotakis also met the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan, Hiroyuki Hosoda, while he was also received by the Crown Prince Akishino of Japan, accompanied by his spouse.
He is also scheduled to make two presentations regarding the Greek economy for Japanese businesses and to deliver a speech at Tokyo University.
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