North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Meeting between NATO Secretary General Rutte and Indo-Pacific Partners (Overview)
On July 7, commencing at 3:40 p.m. local time (at 9:40 p.m. JST) for approximately 30 minutes, Mr. MOTEGI Toshimitsu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, who is visiting Ankara, Türkiye, on the occasion of the NATO Summit, together with Mr. KOIZUMI Shinjiro, Minister of Defense of Japan, attended the Meeting between the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its Indo-Pacific Partners (IP4: Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea (ROK)). The meeting was attended by Mr. Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO, Mr. LEE Jae Myung, President of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Pat Conroy, Minister for Defence Industry and Minister for Pacific Island Affairs of Australia, Mr. Chris Penk, Minister of Defence of New Zealand. The overview of the meeting is as follows:
- At the outset, NATO Secretary General Rutte stated that he was pleased to be able to hold the meeting with the leaders and ministers of the IP4, important partners in the Indo-Pacific on the occasion of the NATO Summit. He also stated that NATO intends to strengthen its relations with the IP4 to appropriately address various challenges facing the international community.
- Foreign Minister MOTEGI stated that the security of the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific is inseparable as seen in the military cooperation between Russia and North Korea in Ukraine and that it is highly important for the IP4 and NATO to gather and confirm their solidarity in this manner. Furthermore, Foreign Minister MOTEGI stated that a robust NATO-IP4 relationship also contributes to the peace and stability of the international community as a whole and expressed his intention to further build up practical cooperation with NATO and further strengthen their strategic relationship.
- NATO Secretary General Rutte and the attendees from the IP4 countries had a candid exchange of views on the international situation, including Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the situation in the Indo-Pacific such as issues related to China, their policies toward North Korea and the situation in Iran. They concurred on building up concrete cooperation between NATO and the IP4 and strengthening their coordination in areas such as defense industry cooperation, cyber, and technology.
- Secretary General Rutte once again expressed his gratitude for the support to Ukraine by the IP4 countries including Japan.