Celebration and examination of Japan-Italy relations

The Italy-Japan Foundation is one of the key organizers of the event

 ROME -- A conference organised by the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) -- International Business Insitute -- and the Italy-Japan Foundation in collaboration with the Japanese Embassy in Rome and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MFAIC) will take place Wednesday, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Japan-Italy diplomatic relations.  

 Aug. 25, 1866, Japan and Italy signed the ‘Treaty of Amity and Commerce,’ beginning a partnership that ever since has grown in quantity and quality. After 150 years of diplomatic ties, what are the current opportunities, and challenges, of their relationship? 

 Italy and Japan have a major role to play in promoting their shared values of democracy, human rights and market economics at the regional and global level. In the context of the EU-Japan partnership, Rome and Tokyo are cooperating on a Framework Agreement covering not only political dialogue and foreign policy coordination, but also regional and global issues; and a Free Trade Agreement to stimulate growth on both sides. 

 Being two major industrialized nations, Italy and Japan collaborate in international and multilateral fora such as the UN, OECD, as well as in the context of informal fora such as the G7 and the G20. Despite the differing positions on the reform of the Security Council, the two countries are like-minded partners at the UN level, where they share similar approaches and views on a wide range of issues. Japan is currently chair of the G7 group, while Italy will take over the chair in 2017. 

 This conference aims to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Japan-Italy diplomatic relations, and examine the perspectives of the two countries on current global challenges, including discussion of their commitment to advancing EU-Japan dialogue and deepening cooperation in multilateral international organizations (UN, OECD, G7 and G20).

 The conference will be held at Palazzo Baldassini in Rome on Wednesday Oct. 26, 2016 from 9am to 1pm, with various talks from the directors of the various associations involved, the Japanese ambassador to Italy and a professor of economics from Tokyo University, amongst others.

 nkd