EU-Pacific Talks: Japan – V4 relations – more central but still European

We would like to invite you to the fourth debate from the EU-Pacific talks series titled "Japan – V4 relations – more central but still European" The debate will take place online on the 11th of January and will be broadcasted on our Facebook page.

While there is a large geographical distance between the two regions, Japan and Central Europe both share a strong commitment towards building stronger democratic ties, strengthening economic relations, and coordinating on global issues such as climate change and security concerns over the rise of China. As the V4 grapples with aligning on these issues, external challenges such as China continues to assert itself in the region. How can Japan and V4 members institutionalize relations? Will the V4 rely on the Japan-EU partnership to drive this enhancement of ties?

Speakers:

• Yoko Iwama, Professor of International Relations & Director of Maritime Safety and Security Policy Program, National Graduate Institute For Policy Studies, Japan
• Eliška Žigová, Director, Department of Asia and Pacific, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (TBC)
• Oskar Pietrewicz, Senior Analyst, The Polish Institute of International Affairs, Poland
• Gergely Salát, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hungary
• Róbert Vancel, Lecturer & Assistant Professor, Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia

Host: Alexandra Visnerova, Project Manager, EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy

You can watch the debate online here. You will be able to join the discussion directly during the debate by commenting below the video. If you already have any questions, please post them in the discussion section of this event.

Alexandra Visnerova
Senior Project Manager, Transatlantic Policy Forum