Japanese Ambassador to Serbia Toshio Tsunozaki said that the Japanese government is satisfied with the way Serbia is using the help provided by the Japanese official development assistance during the past decade.

In a “Japan’s development cooperation with Serbia – analysing ten years of experience” conference, Tsunozaki said the total value of Japan's assistance to Serbia since 2000 to date amounts to approximately €460 million.

He said that the assistance the Japanese government is directed to various areas that are important to the lives of citizens, and confirmed that the country will continue to assist Serbia.

The Ambassador of Japan said that Serbia and Japan are marking the 130th anniversary since their first diplomatic correspondence this year and stressed that the friendly ties of the Serbian and the Japanese people are stronger than ever.

Deputy Head of the Serbian EU Integration Office and EU funds coordinator Ognjen Miric stressed that the projects financed from the Japanese donation are of direct interest to the everyday life of our citizens.

He said that the Japanese assistance is also intended for projects which help Serbia get closer to the EU, adding that the perspectives for cooperation between Serbia and Japan are expanding.

Miric underlined that Japanese assistance to Serbia was not reduced even after the devastating earthquake which hit Japan in 2011.

The fact that the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) regional headquarters is located in Belgrade speaks about the importance of cooperation between Serbia and Japan, he noted.

JICA permanent representative for the Balkans Satoru Kurosawa announced that Japan will continue with donations to Serbia, noting that the main target areas are environmental protection, development of the private sector and preservation of regional stability.

The conference was organised by the Serbian EU Integration Office, Japanese embassy in Serbia and JICA.