The Board of Directors of the Japan-Serbia Association, headed by its President Tadashi Nagai, former Ambassador of Japan to Serbia and honorary citizen of Belgrade, organized a welcome reception for Ambassador Kovač at the Embassy.

In their welcoming speeches, President Nagai and one of the directors of the Association and former Ambassador of Japan to Serbia Toshio Tsunozaki wished Ambassador Kovač great success in performing her duties, emphasizing special satisfaction with her long ties with Japan and knowledge of Japanese language and culture. They promised all the support and assistance of the Society in further promotion of Serbia and strengthening of cooperation between the two countries in all areas, and especially in the economic field. They stressed the importance of the upcoming jubilee of 140 years of friendship between Serbia and Japan and expressed the readiness of the Society to participate in activities during the celebration of the jubilee in 2022. The closing speech was given by Osamu Hirashita, the Vice President of the Association, who, among other things, confirmed his readiness for active engagement in advancing and deepening of cooperation between Japan and Serbia. 

Amb. Kovač thanked the Association for the warm reception and welcome, emphasizing that the Embassy of Serbia remains the second home for its members. She expressed satisfaction that the number of members, thanks to the efforts of President Nagai and the Board of Directors, is growing, and that Serbia is now known about in smaller cities in Japan. She emphasized that we should not forget the contribution that sister cities, Japanese companies investing in Serbia and the inclusion of young people in promotional activities in Japan give to the friendship. She especially emphasized the importance of the upcoming jubilee and the excellent cooperation with the host cities of our sports teams during the Olympics in Tokyo. 

Among the directors of the Steering Board are former Japanese Ambassador to Serbia Junichi Maruyama and former Japanese Ambassador to Uganda and Minister Counselor at the Japanese Embassy in Belgrade Kazuaki Kameda, who were also present at the reception.