Ambassador of Japan to Belarus Hiroki Tokunaga visited Vitebsk
— This is not your first visit to the Vitebsk region. In recent years, we have had many points of contact, said Vladimir Terentyev, Chairman of the Regional Council of Deputies, welcoming the guest. — First of all, I want to thank you for donating a special vehicle for transporting wheelchair users and the elderly to the Territorial Center for Social Services of the Population of the Vitebsk District in November last year. It is also gratifying that figures from Japanese culture, education, and social spheres participate in our events. In particular, they performed at the "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" International Arts Festival and the IFMC Festival of Modern Choreography. There are many joint projects with public organizations, for example, with the Peace Foundation and the Women's Union. Japanese volunteers shared their experience of clown therapy in healthcare facilities with the people of Vitebsk. Cooperation in the sports sector is proceeding fruitfully. Your judokas and spochana masters, junior biathletes, and young tumblers visited us. I hope this will become a locomotive for creating mutually beneficial projects in the economic and tourism sectors.
Hiroki Tokunaga is confident that it is necessary to familiarize Japanese business representatives with the potential of the Vitebsk region.
— The volume of dry whey imported from Belarus to Japan has recently increased. A whole complex of dairy processing enterprises has been created in the Vitebsk region, and they have great potential in our market. I am familiar with the products of JSC "Moloko" of Vitebsk, the confectionery factory "Vitba", and the Orsha Linen Mill. Several Japanese businessmen have already visited you to study production more closely, but this is clearly not enough, — the ambassador said. — Your region is interesting to us from the perspective of ecological tourism. Also, Japanese people love Marc Chagall very much, so Vitebsk, the small homeland of the great artist, can attract my compatriots. We are focused on long-term cooperation and are ready to provide you with assistance in various areas. For example, the grant assistance program of the Japanese government continues to operate, so you have the opportunity to submit new applications.
The meeting was attended by Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Member of the Presidium of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Sergey Rakhmanov. He emphasized that the Belarusian-Japanese Business Association is currently being established, which will promote the implementation of mutually beneficial projects, including in the IT sector. In addition, Sergey Kimovich advised the regional authorities to appoint a person responsible for working with the Japanese side to make joint activities more systematic and effective.
The head of the diplomatic mission arrived in the Vitebsk region together with the 2008 Olympic judo champion Isii Satoshi, who conducted master classes for local coaches and athletes. As Vladimir Terentyev noted, this is a unique event that testifies to the close friendship between the countries.