Kochi Prefecture has produced many great historical figures, including patriot samurai in the closing days of the Tokugawa shogunate, and I have heard that it is a region where an enterprising spirit is rooted. I hope the economic activity in Kochi Prefecture will become more active through aggressive and bold cooperative efforts among industry, government, academia, and financial institutions.
At the beginning of the 1960s, the first Turkish immigrants came to Germany, and today, more than 50 years later, around 3 million people of Turkish origin live within Germany’s borders. Our two countries are therefore connected not only at the political but also at a very personal level. Last year, the central banks of Turkey and Germany added a new level of partnership.