North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Meeting between Foreign Minister Iwaya and NATO Secretary General Rutte
February 15, 2025
On February 15, commencing at 2 p.m. (10 p.m. JST) for approximately 25 minutes, Mr. IWAYA Takeshi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a meeting with H.E. Mr. Mark Rutte, the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), during his visit to the Federal Republic of Germany for attending the Munich Security Conference. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
- At the outset, Foreign Minister Iwaya stated that frequent meetings between Japan and NATO since Secretary General Rutte’s assumption of his office in October last year prove that the relationship between Japan and NATO has become stronger than ever. Minister Iwaya also expressed his expectation for further deepening of the cooperation between Japan and NATO, based on the recognition that the security of Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific is inseparable. In response, Secretary General Rutte stated that he would like to further develop the Japan-NATO relationship in various fields.
- Minister Iwaya welcomed Secretary General’s stance on attaching importance to NATO’s engagement in Indo-Pacific, and expressed his hope to coordinate toward enhancing relationship between NATO and Indo-Pacific partners (IP4: Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea). In response, Secretary General Rutte expressed his gratitude for Japan’s leadership in the NATO-IP4 cooperation, including the Japan-NATO Conference on Strategic Communications hosted by Japan this month.
- Both sides also exchanged views on regional and international situations including Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Secretary General Rutte stated that he highly values Japan’s strong support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. Both sides also affirmed the importance of strengthening cooperation among like-minded countries including NATO.