Photo: Spain's Foreign Minister in Japan Hoping to Improve Economic Growth
Spain is looking to Japan as an ally for achieving economic growth via the “creation of joint enterprises” in areas of common interest, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo told Efe Wednesday.
Spain is looking to “open itself to the Asia-Pacific region” and promote economic relations with a country “that has not been at the level nor the time nor intensity of political links,” the Spanish foreign minister said after meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida.
“Our companies can work jointly in regions that Spain knows well, such as Latin America and North Africa, and also in the Asia-Pacific region, an area that offers us enormous possibilities that have not been taken advantage of until now,” Garcia-Margallo said.
The Japanese are “extraordinarily well informed, they know our leading Spanish companies very well and are looking at the opportunities,” the Spanish foreign minister said.
Spain can serve as a gateway to important markets, such as the European Union, Latin America and North Africa, for Japan, Kishida said.
Garcia-Margallo’s visit is extremely important because it comes at a time when Japan can use Spain’s assistance as an ally as it negotiates a free trade agreement with the European Union, Japanese government officials and representatives of the country’s leading trade association, Keidaren, told Efe.
