Courtesy Call on Mr. Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia, by Mr. Katsuya Okada, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan (Overview)

December 15, 2009
Japanese

Mr. Katsuya Okada, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, paid a courtesy call on Mr. Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia, at the Australian Embassy, Tokyo. The courtesy call lasted for about 30 minutes from 11:30 a.m. on December 15, and began with an invitation from Prime Minister Rudd for Minister Okada to visit Australia.

Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation
With a view towards Nuclear Security Summit, the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and other meetings to be held next year as well as in light of the report made by the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND), Prime Minister Rudd and Minister Okada shared the view to spur international discussion pertaining to framework for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation as well as strengthen cooperation between Japan and Australia. They also agreed to keep in close contact regarding the Iranian nuclear issue.
Japan-Australia Security Cooperation
Prime Minister Rudd and Minister Okada welcomed revisions to be made to the action plan for security cooperation between Japan and Australia, and agreed to strengthen logistics cooperation between the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the Australian military. It was also intended to arrange the 3rd Japan-Australia Joint Foreign and Defense Ministerial Consultation (2 + 2) during the first half of 2010.
Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)
Prime Minister Rudd and Minister Okada agreed to swiftly proceed with negotiations under the political leadership towards the early conclusion of a Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) that would benefit both sides.
Climate Change
Prime Minister Rudd and Minister Okada, recognizing the necessity to resolve differences of position between developed nations and developing nations at the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15), which will soon be concluded, agreed that Japan and Australia would continue to cooperate closely.
Asia-Pacific community (APc)
Prime Minister Rudd said that he hoped for discussions between Japan and Australia regarding future frameworks in the Asia-Pacific region, in light of his own proposal of an “Asia-Pacific community” (APc) and Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s proposal of an “East Asian community.” In response, Minister Okada stated that it was necessary to pay attention to the importance of the role of ASEAN. Furthermore, Prime Minister Rudd and Minister Okada agreed to hold discussions while making use of existing frameworks such as APEC.

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