Japan-France Relations
Japan-France Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
November 26, 2024
On November 26, commencing at 9:30 p.m. (local time; November 26, 5:30 p.m. JST) for approximately 20 minutes, Mr. IWAYA Takeshi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, who is visiting Italy to attend the G7 Foreign Minister’s Meeting, held a first face-to-face meeting with H.E. Mr. Jean-Noël BARROT, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
- At the outset, Foreign Minister Iwaya stated that, under the Roadmap on Japan-France Cooperation issued last year, he would like to work closely to realize a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)”and to maintain and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rule of law. In response, Mr. Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, stated that the relationship between Japan and France is exceptional and that he looks forward to working closely with Minister Iwaya to deepen the relationship in a wide range of areas.
- The two Ministers concurred to continue to promote cooperation in the security field, as well as in the fields of economy, science and technology. They also welcomed to launch the Japan-France Counter-Terrorism Dialogue to promote cooperation in this field.
- The two Ministers reaffirmed the shared recognition that the security of Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific is inseparable, and confirmed that Japan and France will work closely together on various issues of the international community, including the situation in East Asia, such as policies towards North Korea including on the nuclear and missile issues as well as the advancement of Russia-North Korea military cooperation, as well as the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East.
- The two Ministers concurred to continue to cooperate closely both bilaterally and in the framework of the G7.