Japan-Poland Relations

1. At the beginning, Minister Motegi stated that he was pleased with the opportunity to visit Warsaw during Poland’s V4 presidency and strengthen their strategic partnership. Minister Rau welcomed Minister Motegi's visit and stated that he was delighted to see the development of the bilateral relationship.
2. The two ministers welcomed their countries’ mutually-cooperative activities, such as active high-level dialogues and the investment seminar in March even during the COVID-19 pandemic. They shared the view to continue cooperation in promoting both economic policies and climate change countermeasures in midst of the global trend of decarbonization.
3. Minister Motegi noted that the Three Seas Initiative, which has been led by Poland, is a meaningful endeavor which will promote the Japan-EU Connectivity Partnership and the unity of Europe and expressed Japan’s intention to consider ways in which Japan could become involved. Minister Rau stated that he hoped that Japan would be actively involved in this initiative that is also supported by the United States. The two ministers shared the view on the importance of supporting the EU accession of the Western Balkans and to work together in this field.
4. Minister Motegi welcomed the “EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific” as EU’s strong will to engage with the Indo-Pacific, and stated that he would promote cooperation with Poland, whose presence is growing in the EU, for the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”. Minister Rau expressed his strong support for the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” and both ministers shared the view that promoting peace, stability, free trade, and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region is important for Europe as well as for the rest of the international community and shared the view to promote their cooperation.
5. The Ministers also exchanged views on the situations in East Asia. Minister Motegi expressed serious concerns about the persistent and strengthened unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China Seas, including the Coast Guard Law. The two ministers shared the view on the importance of strengthening the unity of like-minded countries who share fundamental values to preserve and reinforce a free and open international order based on the rule of law. Regarding North Korea, Minister Motegi asked for understanding and cooperation toward an immediate resolution of the abduction issue.

[Note 1] V4 (Visegrád 4)

A framework for regional cooperation comprising of Poland (currently the chair), Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. It was founded in 1991 in Visegrád, Hungary. In addition to dialogues held between leaders, foreign ministers, and senior officials, cooperation in the framework “V4 + Japan” is also being promoted in a wide range of fields such as science and technology, third country support, disaster prevention, and the environment.

[Note 2] Three Seas Initiative

The Three Seas Initiative was launched in 2015 under the initiative of Poland and Croatia, and aims to strengthen connectivity along a north-south axis as well as to close the gap between the East and the West in the Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic regions. The initiative focuses on infrastructure development in the energy, transport, and digital sectors in the region surrounded by the Baltic Sea, the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea. Now twelve countries including the V4 countries are the members of this forum.