By Yuta Abe

MADRID – Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi met with his Czech counterpart Tomas Petricek in Spain on Dec. 15 (Dec. 16, Japan time). The two ministers agreed to strengthen their countries’ bilateral ties through economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.

The Czech Republic chairs the Visegrád 4, a regional cooperation mechanism in Eastern Europe comprising the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary. As China is increasing its influence on the V4, Japan has recently working to strengthen its ties with the V4 nations. (Abridged)