Japan-Sweden Relations
Japan-Sweden Summit Telephone Talk
March 16, 2021
On March 16, commencing at 4:03 p.m. for approximately 15 minutes, Mr. SUGA Yoshihide, Prime Minister of Japan, held a summit telephone talk with H.E. Mr. Stefan LÖFVEN, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sweden. The overview of the talk is as follows.
- At the outset, Prime Minister Suga stated that Japan and Sweden are partners who share fundamental values such as freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, and that he hoped to build a favorable relationship with Prime Minister Löfven and further strengthen the relations between Japan and Sweden. In response, Prime Minister Löfven expressed his condolences on the tenth anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and stated his intention to cooperate for further developing the bilateral relations between Japan and Sweden.
- Prime Minister Suga welcomed the progress of cooperation between the two countries on their responses to the novel corona virus (COVID-19), and stated his intention to cooperate by such means as strengthening economic relations through the Social Security Agreement and the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). Both leaders shared the view to further enhance bilateral relations in a wide range of fields including economy, climate change and digitalization.
- Prime Minister Suga welcomed the growing interest of European countries in the Indo-Pacific and the commencement of the discussions in the EU, and expressed his intention to cooperate with Sweden toward the realization of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” and Prime Minister Löfven concurred. In addition, Prime Minister Suga expressed serious concern about unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China Sea, including China’s Coast Guard Law and about the situation in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and the two leaders shared the view to continue to cooperate. Moreover, both leaders shared the view to cooperate in addressing North Korea, including the abductions issue. Furthermore, both leaders shared the grave concern about the situation in Myanmar and shared the view to continue to cooperate.