Georgia, Tbilisi, July 19 / Trend N. Kirtzkhalia /
Japan attaches much importance to the cooperation within the GUAM-Japan format, Chairman of the Japanese Committee of International Relations and Defence Committee of the House of Councilors Tetsuro Fukuyama said at a meeting with Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze in Tokyo, the Georgian Foreign Ministry told Trend on Thursday.
He stressed the significance of GUAM-Japan cooperation format and expressed hope for further intensifying the relations in this format between Japan and the GUAM countries.
Fukuyama touched upon the reforms recently implemented in Georgia. He stressed the attractiveness of the business sphere in Georgia and the country's honorable 16th position in terms of business in the world ranking.
Grigol Vashadze urged Fukuyama for the Japanese parliament to send an observer mission to the parliamentary elections in Georgia. This will contribute to holding transparent elections that meet international standards.
GUAM was established by post-Soviet countries in 1997 during the EU presidential summit in Strasbourg. In 1999, Uzbekistan joined the organization, and left four years later. A decision was made to rename GUAM as an international organization "Organization for Democracy and Economic Development - GUAM," at the organization's first summit in Kiev in 2006.