Azernews.Az

Japan hopes for a swift resolution to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, Japanese Ambassador to Azerbaijan Masamitsu Oki has said, calling on the sides to step up efforts toward ending the nearly two-decade-long dispute.
"The [mediating] OSCE Minsk Group has intensified its efforts and I hope they will yield fruit in the near future," he said at a debate in the Center for Strategic Studies under the Azerbaijani President Friday.
According to the ambassador, Japan is not directly involved in the process of settling the conflict, but the country encourages all parties to exert efforts leading to a speedy settlement of the conflict.
Further, Oki praised the high-level relations between Japan and Azerbaijan, citing the importance of expanding them.
"Ties should be forged between people to achieve this. From this viewpoint, tourism should be developed. Azerbaijan should definitely develop its non-oil sector. Compared to Japan, Azerbaijan is more fortunate – there is gas in your country. But another important sector – agriculture, as well as eco-technology, should be developed as well."
Oki said Japan was interested in cooperating with the resource-rich South Caucasus republic not only in the oil and gas sector but also in tapping alternative sources of energy. He said Tokyo welcomes the establishment of the State Agency for Alternative and Renewable Sources of Energy under Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Industry and Energy and is ready to cooperate with it.
The ambassador said collaboration between the two countries is developing both on the level of governments and through the allocation of Japanese grants to Azerbaijan. These funds are being spent on up to 15 projects covering a multitude of fields, including supplies of drinking water to the population and construction of schools.
Oki termed education as one of the priority areas for cooperation. Azerbaijani students study in Japanese universities, and three schools in Azerbaijan offer Japanese language classes.*