Telephone Conversation between Mr. Katsuya Okada, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Dr. Guido Westerwelle, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs and Deputy Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany

June 10, 2010
Japanese

Mr. Katsuya Okada, Minister for Foreign Affairs, held a telephone conversation with Dr. Guido Westerwelle, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs and Deputy Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, for about 20 minutes from 4:10 p.m. on June 10 (Thu). The telephone conversation was conducted at the request of the Japanese side, upon Minister Okada’s reappointment as Minister for Foreign Affairs under the Kan administration. The overview of the conversation is as follows.

At the start, Minister Okada thanked Minister Westerwelle for the words of congratulation upon his reappointment as Minister. He said that there will be no change in the basic policies under the new administration of Prime Minister Kan, with most of the Cabinet members including him retaining their posts, and said he intends to continue cooperating closely with Minister Westerwelle. In response, Minister Westerwelle said he is looking forward to continue working with Minister Okada going forward, and expressed his expectation for a visit by Minister Okada to Germany at an early stage.
Minister Okada said that the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1929 adopted on June 9 sent a clear message from the international community to Iran, and that it would be important for the international community to implement the resolution steadily and concertedly and to urge Iran to make a right decision. In response, Minister Westerwelle stated that the Security Council resolution was a clear message to Iran, and thanked Japan for its cooperation.
Minister Okada welcomed the agreement reached on the Final Document at the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, and thanked Germany again for its cooperation, referring to the urgent call issued by ministers, including Minister Westerwelle and Minister Okada which facilitated compromise among the participating countries. In response, Minister Westerwelle thanked Japan’s initiative with regard to the urgent call. The two ministers agreed to continue working closely as partners in the area of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
Minister Okada referred to the agreement reached at the Japan-EU summit meeting in April toward a comprehensive strengthening and integration of the Japan-EU economic relationship, and expressed his gratitude for Minister Westerwelle’s cooperation on that matter. In response, Minister Westerwelle said Germany is open to the strengthening of Japan-EU economic relations, and expressed his expectation for the new administration to steadily work on the issue of non-tariff measures in order to propel forward the negotiation for the conclusion of an economic partnership agreement (EPA). The two ministers concurred on the importance for Japan and the EU to cooperate as partners not only in the area of economy but also in addressing global issues including climate change.
Finally, the two ministers concluded the conversation by agreeing to keep close contact.

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