Today Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai received Mr. Yohei Kono, former Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan and Mr. Hiromasa Yonekura, President of Sumitomo Chemical Co Ltd. in his office. 

The Japanese guests visited Budapest to celebrate the inauguration of the Elisabeth Bridge illumination which was realized with the cooperation of Hungary and Japan. 

Both sides expressed their satisfaction about events organized during the Anniversary Year 2009, and hoped that these programs will serve as a basis for longtime cooperation between the two countries. 

Prime Minister Bajnai thanked Mr. Yohei Kono for his continuous support to the strengthening of the Hungarian-Japanese relations. The Elizabeth Bridge illumination project was initiated and supported by Mr. Yohei Kono. Being chairman of the Japanese Committee in charge of preparing the Hungarian-Japanese Anniversary Year, the former Speaker of the House contributed a lot personally to the success of the events. Mr. Hiromasa Yonekura played a prominent role in the development of Hungarian-Japanese relations as the President of the Hungarian-Japanese Cooperation Forum between 2005 and 2007 and as member of the Japanese Preparatory Committee. Expressing gratitude for his activities. 

During the meeting, the Prime Minister emphasized that in the last two decades economic ties had become the primary field of cooperation between the two countries. He also gave a brief overview of the effect of the global crisis on the Hungarian economy.