JAPAN-UK JOINT STATEMENT
Meeting between Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw
Tokyo, 17 July 2002

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw met today in Tokyo. They welcomed the extensive bilateral cooperation to date between Japan and the United Kingdom under the Action Agenda 21 launched in 1999. Today, they reaffirmed their determination to intensify policy consultation and coordination to fulfil their growing responsibilities in the international community. They also decided on a number of specific areas for future collaboration, including Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, small arms, ODA and sustainable development.

1. The Foreign Ministers welcomed successful policy consultation and coordination to date, both on regional issues such as the situations in the Middle East, Afghanistan and India-Pakistan, and on global issues such as counter-terrorism, UN reform, the Kyoto Protocol, World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), development assistance, especially for Africa, and human rights. They reaffirmed their determination to intensify such cooperation between the two countries.

2. The Foreign Ministers decided on the following specific areas for cooperation in the near future:

1. Afghanistan: co-hosting of international seminars in the UK in 2002 and in Japan in 2003, with the aim of strengthening international support for the political process, domestic security and humanitarian and reconstruction assistance; and coordination in security sector reform and counter-narcotics.
2. Sierra Leone: exploration of the scope for a joint conflict prevention initiative based on the findings of last year's Joint Fact-Finding Mission.
3. Small Arms: consideration of joint projects in Weapons for Development in co-operation with relevant international and regional organisations including UNDP.
4. Development Assistance: enhancement of policy consultation in respective capitals and on the ground with a view to responding effectively to international development challenges, including exploration of a joint meeting in Tokyo of Asian country representatives and exchange of personnel.
5. Sustainable Development: exploration of the potential for collaboration in the areas of water, forests and energy, notably in improving global energy literacy and diffusing renewable energy.
6. Foreign Policy Dialogue: continuation of foreign policy dialogue such as a high-level meeting on the Asia-Pacific region in Tokyo in 2002; a second joint meeting of Japanese and UK Heads of Mission in the Pacific in 2002; and a third round of Japan-UK human rights talks in Tokyo in December 2002.
7. Political Dialogue: continuation of the ongoing dialogue between advisers to the two Prime Ministers.

3. In order to enhance long-standing cooperative relations the Foreign Ministers expressed their intention to hold regular bilateral meetings and to speak on the telephone at least once a month. They emphasised the importance of further promoting contacts between Japanese and UK missions overseas, and between high level officials from their respective Ministries. They also recognised the continuing importance of working together in international fora such as the UN and G8.