Fumio Kishida will visit Cuba this week, becoming the first Japanese foreign minister to do so and one of the highest-profile visitors to the isolated island since a thaw began between Washington and Havana.
Kishida arrived in the U.S. on Sunday and will first attend a meeting on the U.N. nuclear non-proliferation treaty and hold security talks with the U.S. side there, before heading to Havana.
Kishida, accompanied by a Japanese business delegation, is expected to call for closer ties with Cuba, where Japanese companies can invest in infrastructure projects and mineral resource development, NHK said.
During his visit, Kishida will hold talks with Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez and other Cuban officials, NHK said. The two foreign ministers met in Tokyo in 2013.
Japan and Cuba have maintained diplomatic ties but their channels were limited due to the discord between Cuba and the United States, Japan's key ally.
© Japan Today/AFP
6 Comments
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nath
@warispeace And I suppose you think Russia and China deserve an international leadership role. How ... not peaceful.
tinawatanabe
Did you read the article? It says,
How considerate of Japan to its ally.
warispeace
This is why Japan does not deserve any important international leadership role. America goes a little soft towards Cuba and then Japan follows like a duckling after its mother.
Imanishi E.
It is only proper that Cuba be opened to the world.
Try Habana and the rest of cuba in this order
Trinidad cigars Private home for food, just great Drive to see baseball games in convertible and island Shirt. Beer and cuban sandwiches in the back seat Deep sea fishing Business lastJandworld
Smoke a local product Mr Forein minister
25psot
With old man out Cuba is up for grabs....