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Speech by Prime Minister Ludovic Orban at the reception held on the occasion of the National Day of Japan (February 23) Radisson Blu Hotel, February 19, 2020

Your Excellency Ambassador Noda,
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to join you all for the first celebration of the National Day of Japan on its new date, the 23rd of February – the birthday of His Majesty Emperor Naruhito. May His Majesty have a long and enlightened rule as a symbol of the unity of the friendly Japanese people, whom we wish peace, prosperity and – as the name Reiwa suggests – beautiful harmony.
23rd of February is, symbolically, a day of many beginnings. It is close to the beginning of spring and, as such, it brings about renewed energies and new hopes for the Japanese people and for all the friends of Japan around the world.
It also represents the start of the first complete year of the Reiwa Era, which promises to be the year of momentous events and remarkable achievements – among others, the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo. The previous Olympic Games in Tokyo, in 1964, have marked the beginning of the Japanese economic success. We wish that the Games this year would prove equally memorable, heralding the beginning of a new era of prosperity, progress and renewal for Japan.
This year is also important for our bilateral relations. We intend to continue to work on our most important cooperation project with Japan, the bilateral Strategic Partnership between Romania and Japan, which was announced during the visit to Bucharest of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in January 2018. This is a very ambitious project, which will encompass a variety of domains of cooperation grouped into four fundamental pillars: political, strategic, economic and cultural-scientific.
The moment chosen by us to conclude this Partnership Agreement is the year 2021, when we will also celebrate 100 years of effective diplomatic relations between our countries. These one hundred years of common history have been characterized by a very solid, harmonious and constructive friendship between two like-minded partners which share the same respect for the democratic values, liberty, human rights, gender equality and the rule of law.
We therefore look forward to this double event, which will mark a new beginning in our bilateral relations. Japan is one of Romania’s most important partners. It is now the biggest Asian investor in Romania, and our hope is to see more and more Japanese companies coming to capitalize on the fertile investment ground offered by our country. There are substantial opportunities for cooperation in the field of energy production and distribution, in the automotive industry, in IT, artificial intelligence and other high-value creative industries. Our researchers are already cooperating in a variety of scientific fields, and we intend to deepen and diversify this cooperation. The people-to-people contacts have intensified recently, especially after Japan instituted a visa-free regime for Romanian tourists at the beginning of 2019, and we hope to have a substantial presence at this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games – and maybe succeed in securing many gold medals as well!
I am confident of the bright future of our relations with Japan, which will continue in the same spirit of friendship and mutual understanding.
I would like to raise my glass now in honour of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan! Congratulations to our distinguished Japanese friends on their National Day! “Omedétoo gozaimásu!” Felicitări!