Today marks the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Shinzo Abe, a man who I believe will be numbered among the truly great figures of his time. For me, he was a leader whose wisdom I valued, whose vision I respected and whose friendship I treasured.

When Prime Minister Abe arrived in Belgrade in 2018, it had been 31 years since a Japanese leader had last set foot on our soil. For many, Serbia and Japan were simply too far apart to be close partners. Abe proved them wrong. He saw past the distance and recognized something vital: that Serbia, as he put it, “holds the key to stability in the Western Balkans.”

Abe wasn’t one for empty diplomatic gestures. He brought with him a powerhouse delegation of Japanese business leaders because he knew that real security and prosperity require jobs, technology and economic ties. His “Western Balkans Cooperation Initiative” resulted in a surge of Japanese investment, from high-tech manufacturing to environmental and energy projects.

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