Telephone Conversation between Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Mr. Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia

June 18, 2010
Japanese

Mr. Naoto Kan, Prime Minister of Japan, held a telephone conversation with Mr. Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia, for about 15 minutes from around 11:45 a.m. on June 18 (Fri).

At the outset, Prime Minister Rudd congratulated Prime Minister Kan on his appointment as Prime Minister of Japan. Prime Minister Kan thanked it and said to the effect that Japanese people are grateful to Australia for its cooperation in the recent return to the earth of the Japanese asteroid explorer “Hayabusa.”
The two leaders agreed that Japan and Australia are important strategic partners in the Asia-Pacific region and that the two countries would strengthen cooperation in the political and security areas as well as the traditional economic and trade fields. In this context, the two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation among Japan, Australia and the United States.
The two leaders also agreed to cooperate at APEC and the G-20 and, at the same time, to deepen discussions on issues such as the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and Free Trade Agreement (FTA), frameworks of regional cooperation, and climate change.

(END)