The Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship, and Trade, in cooperation with KIESA, organized the Kosovo–Japan Forum, which aims to strengthen economic and trade cooperation between Kosovar and Japanese companies.
The Acting Minister of Industry, Entrepreneurship, and Trade, Rozeta Hajdari, said that this forum aims to strengthen the economic connection between the two countries and to create new partnerships in sectors such as ICT, metal processing, energy, the environment, and infrastructure.
“The forum aims to strengthen the economic connection between our countries and to create new partnerships in the ICT sector, metal processing, energy, the environment, and infrastructure. Japan is a friend and an important partner of Kosovo, providing continuous support through the development agency JICA in areas such as the environment, technology, food safety, education, and cultural development of youth... Now, with this forum, we are making joint efforts between the two states to begin this friendship in the economic field as well. Kosovo is a new and dynamic economy, with a young workforce and deep legal reforms that have created a very favorable climate for doing business. Our country has recorded rapid economic growth according to this OECD report,” she said.Meanwhile, the Acting General Director of KIESA, Zef Dedaj, emphasizing the importance of the partnership with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), said that this forum serves as motivation to increase the number of businesses and sectors involved in the future.
“We are now happy to have a strong partner, JETRO, which means that our cooperation is growing even more, and I plan to visit JETRO in Budapest very soon. We want to assure you—businesses from Kosovo and Japan—that this is a good beginning with a large number of companies, and it motivates us to increase the number of businesses and sectors even further in the next economic forum,” Dedaj said. The Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of Kosovo, Kiminori Iwama, mentioned that Kosovo and Japan align in their values, which according to him makes their desire for further exploration between the two countries mutual.“We have many aspects to explore—bilateral business relations—because Kosovo and Japan share the same values, share mutual respect, and share a commitment to sustainable development. At the same time, I want to emphasize that this is the first time we have the opportunity to meet individually, together with business partners from Japan and partners from Kosovo. And I believe this should continuously develop relations between the two sectors of business leaders,” he said.
The Kosovo–Japan economic forum marks a new step in strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries. The initiative comes at a time when Kosovo aims to expand international cooperation and attract foreign investment in strategic sectors, while Japan is seeking new cooperation opportunities in the Western Balkans region. Through the support of institutions such as JICA and the involvement of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), this forum creates direct opportunities for businesses to connect and explore new partnerships in the fields of technology, energy, the environment, metal processing, and industrial development. The meeting also marks the first broad effort to bring together the business communities of both states, laying the foundation for long-term and sustainable economic cooperation.
