Japan-Italy Relations
Japan-Italy Foreign Minister's Conference
December 11, 2021
On December 11, commencing at 5:35 p.m. (local time; December 12, 2:35 a.m. JST) for approximately 25 minutes, Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, who was visiting the United Kingdom to attend the Second Meeting of G7 Foreign and Development Ministers, held a meeting with H.E. Hon. Luigi Di Maio, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Italian Republic. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
- At the outset, Minister Hayashi expressed his wish to strengthen Japan’s relationship with Italy, an important partner with whom Japan shares fundamental values. He expressed his respect for the leadership of Italy, which has led the international community as the G20 Presidency and as the COP26 Co-Presidency. He stated that he would like to continue working closely with Italy on issues facing the international community and on regional affairs. In response, Minister Di Maio congratulated Minister Hayashi on his appointment as Foreign Minister and stated that he attaches great importance to his country’s relationship with Japan. He added that he would like to cooperate with Minister Hayashi to strengthen Japan-Italy relations.
- Minister Hayashi stated that he highly appreciates the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and that Prime Minister Draghi and Minister Di Maio’s strong support for a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" is significantly assuring. The two ministers welcomed the progress in security cooperation between Japan and Italy, including joint training exercises between the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and Italian-led EU ships in the Gulf of Aden and the agreement on training Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) pilots in Italy. They shared the view to further strengthen bilateral and Japan-EU cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
- The two ministers also concurred on advancing their cooperation in the international arena, including in climate change issues and countermeasures against COVID-19. Minister Hayashi also asked for cooperation in lifting the remaining import restrictions on Japanese food products by the EU.