Foreign Minister Kishidas Meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Kirk (Overview)

On Friday, January 18, for approximately 50 minutes from 11:15 A.M. (EST), during his visit to Washington, D.C., Minister for Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida held a meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk. The outline of the meeting is as follows:

1. At the beginning, USTR Kirk congratulated Minister Kishida on his assumption of the office of Minister for Foreign Affairs. In response, Minister Kishida stated that he highly appreciated the leadership of USTR Kirk to date in promoting close cooperation between Japan and the United States in many economic areas.
2. Both sides shared the view that they would further strengthen trade and investment relationships between Japan and the United States in a wide range of areas through various bilateral dialogues and cooperation and would seek to realize free trade and investment at the regional and global levels by promoting collaboration and cooperation in various fora including APEC and the WTO.
3. Regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Japanese side introduced the new administration's views and current domestic discussions, and confirmed the progress made to date in consultations between the two countries. Both sides confirmed their intention to keep close contact with each other and continue consultations.