Telephone Conversation between Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

June 18, 2010
Japanese

On June 18 (Fri), Mr. Naoto Kan, Prime Minister of Japan, held a telephone conversation for about 15 minutes from 4:15 p.m. with the Rt. Hon David Cameron MP, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, at the request of the UK side. The summary of the conversation is as follows.

Introduction

Prime Minister Cameron congratulated Prime Minister Kan on his appointment as Prime Minister of Japan. In response, Prime Minister Kan thanked Prime Minister Cameron for the telephone call, and expressed his congratulations for the first inauguration of a Conservative Party-led government in 14 years in the United Kingdom and for Prime Minister Cameron’s assumption of office. Prime Minister Kan noted that his visit to the United Kingdom in June 2009 had been a great opportunity to study the UK Parliament and politics, which proved useful for the Democratic Party of Japan government.
G8/G20

Prime Minister Cameron asked Prime Minister Kan what issues Japan would emphasize in the agenda for the G8 and G20 summit meetings to be held next week in Canada. Prime Minister Cameron said that the United Kingdom placed priority on the development issue, particularly in the area of maternal health. In response, Prime Minister Kan said that Japan placed importance on the issues of the economy and public finance that have been seriously affecting the international community, including Japan and the United Kingdom. He also noted the importance of discussion on development and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), referring to a number of achievements made by Japan in the area of maternal health, and expressed his intension to support the improvement of maternal health, particularly in Africa. Prime Minister Cameron said that he agreed with Prime Minister Kan’s point about the importance of the issues of the economy and public finance. He furthermore expressed his intension to also discuss diplomatic issues including Afghanistan, North Korea, Myanmar, Iran, and nuclear nonproliferation. Prime Minister Kan concurred on his statement.
Prime Minister Cameron noted the importance of the Japan-UK bilateral relationship, and expressed his intention to strengthen it further going forward. In response,

Prime Minister Kan said he was willing to cooperate with the United Kingdom more than ever, citing their long history of bilateral exchanges.

(END)

Back to Index