Meeting between Mr. Koichiro Gemba, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and H.E. Ms. Delphine BATHO, Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy of the French Republic

December 15, 2012
Japanese

On December 15 at the Fukushima Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety, from 11:40 a.m. for about 10 minutes, Mr. Koichiro Gemba, Minister for Foreign Affairs, met with H.E. Ms. Delphine BATHO, Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy of the French Republic, who is visiting Japan. The overview of the meeting is as follows.

At the start of the meeting, Minister Gemba welcomed Minister Batho to Fukushima, and thanked her again for the support extended by France since the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. Minister Batho said that Japan and France have been cooperative partners for many years in the field of nuclear power, and stated that France would continue to spare no effort in supporting Japan to overcome the result of the Great East Japan Earthquake and nuclear disaster.
In addition, the two ministers confirmed that they would continue to work together to construct “excellent partner relations” between their countries; had an exchange of opinions about the leaders statement on Japan-France cooperation that is planned to be released next time H.E. Mr. François Hollande, President of the French Republic, visits Japan; and shared the view that the statement would touch upon cooperation in the field of nuclear power, including the decontamination and decommissioning of reactors, climate change issues, and other matters.
Furthermore, in relation to climate change issues, the two ministers shared the view that they would continue Japan-France cooperation toward the holding of the COP21 meeting in 2015, which France had announced it is preparing to host, with the aim of constructing a fair and effective international framework in which all countries can participate.

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