Japan-France Relations
Japan-France Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
June 22, 2023
On June 22th, commencing at 5:28 p.m. (local time; June 23th, 0:28 a.m. JST) for approximately 55 minutes, Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, who was visiting Paris to attend the “Summit for a New Global Financing Pact”, held a meeting with H.E. Ms. Catherine COLONNA, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
- At the outset, Minister Hayashi expressed his pleasure at visiting Paris for the first time since assuming the post as Minister for Foreign Affairs, and expressed his respect for the initiative of France in hosting the “Summit for a New Global Financing Pact”. He also expressed his heartfelt sympathy on the explosion that occurred the previous day in the center of Paris. Minister Colonna expressed her gratitude to Japan for its hospitality during the G7 Hiroshima Summit and the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Karuizawa, Nagano. She expressed her hope to further strengthen cooperation with Japan.
- Minister Hayashi welcomed the progress on Japan-France relations in a wide range of areas, including security and defense, economy, science and technology, response to global issues, cultural and people-to-people exchange and others. The Ministers concurred to set up a working group on economic security in the diplomatic sphere. They also concurred that they continue to promote concrete cooperation, such as the port call of the French frigate "Lorraine" to the Port of Tokyo and joint training with the Maritime and Air Self-Defense Forces.
- Regarding the response to Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the Ministers concurred on the need to continue to impose strict sanctions against Russia and to provide strong support for Ukraine in order to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. The Ministers also exchanged views on the situation in East Asia, including China and North Korea, and concurred that they continue to cooperate in dealing with North Korea, including the nuclear and missile issues and the abductions issue.