Japanese Foreign Minister to visit Sri Lanka this week

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa is to visit Sri Lanka this week, the Japanese Foreign Ministry announced.

According to the Kathmandu Post, Kamikawa will arrive in Kathmandu on May 4 via Sri Lanka on a two-day Nepal visit.

Japan has established a deep relationship of trust with both Sri Lanka and Nepal based on long years of development cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, and intends to further strengthen cooperation through this visit, the Japanese foreign ministry stated.

Ahead of the Nepal visit, she will also be travelling to France and other nations.

She is arriving at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha. Besides Sheresha, Kamikawa is also likely to meet President Ramchandra Paudel, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and other political leaders.

Foreign ministry officials, however, expressed their surprise at the Japanese announcement of the visit unilaterally. “We were supposed to announce the visit jointly,” a joint-secretary at the Kathmandu ministry said.

Kamikawa will discuss the celebration in 2026 of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Nepal and Japan.

Japan will pledge cooperation to facilitate Nepal’s graduation from a least developed country, according to the Japanese foreign ministry.

The visit is focused on the themes of economy and connectivity, said the ministry. “The idea is to develop diplomacy that acts as a bridge between Japan and like-minded countries.” (Kathmandu Post / Colombo Gazette)