Japan-Belgium Relations
Japan-Belgium Foreign Minister’s Meeting
April 4, 2023
On April 4th, commencing at 11:30 a.m. (local time; April 4th, 18:30 p.m. JST), for approximately 30 minutes, Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, who was visiting Brussels, the Kingdom of Belgium, to attend the Meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs, held a bilateral meeting with H.E. Ms. Hadja LAHBIB, Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Federal Cultural Institutions of the Kingdom of Belgium. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
- At the beginning of the meeting, Minister Lahbib expressed her welcome to the visit to Belgium by Minister Hayashi, and Minister Hayashi expressed his pleasure at the early realization of the face-to-face meeting following the previous meeting held last December in Tokyo. As strategic partners who share fundamental values, the two Ministers agreed to work closely together to respond to Russia's aggression against Ukraine and to realize a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific".
- The two Ministers shared that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is an outrageous act that undermines the foundation of the international order and the importance for like-minded countries to unite to maintain strict sanctions against Russia and strong support for Ukraine.
- The Ministers also exchanged views on the situation in North Korea, including the nuclear and missile issues and the abduction issue, as well as on China. The two Ministers also agreed to continue cooperation at the UN and other international fora.
- Minister Hayashi asked for Belgium's cooperation in the early removal of import restrictions by the EU on Japanese food products.