Press Releases
Japan-Guatemala Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and Working Dinner
May 22, 2024
On May 22, commencing at 6:30 p.m., Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a bilateral meeting (for approximately 30 minutes) and a working dinner (for approximately 70 minutes) with H.E. Mr. Carlos Ramiro Martínez, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Guatemala, during his visit to Japan. The overview is as follows. Following the meeting, the two ministers conducted a signing ceremony for the Exchange of Notes concerning the Grant Aid “The Economic and Social Development Programme” (Provision of a Water and Sewage System Maintenance Equipment (Pumps, Crane Trucks, etc.)) and the Memorandum of Cooperation about Political Consultation Mechanism.
- At the outset, Minister Kamikawa, welcoming Minister Martínez’s visit to Japan, stated that Guatemala is a friendly country with which Japan will celebrate 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year, and an important partner that shares values and principles such as freedom, democracy, rule of law and market economy. She also welcomed Guatemala’s participation in the Expo 2025 Osaka-Kansai and the active high-level dialogues with President Arévalo’s Administration, and expressed her hope for further cooperation.
In response, Minister Martínez expressed his appreciation for the hospitality of the Japanese government and, after explaining his attitude to give importance to the relations with Japan, stated that he highly appreciates Japan’s “Diplomatic Initiative toward Latin America and the Caribbean” and desires to further strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation on migration, disaster prevention, democracy, rule of law and gender balance including WPS, based on the Initiative. - Under this Initiative, Minister Kamikawa proposed and agreed with Minister Martínez to center (1) values and principles, (2) migration, poverty, and security, and (3) WPS and gender, on the axis of cooperation between the two countries and to promote them also utilizing cooperation with third countries.
Specifically, Minister Kamikawa stated that, first of all, she would like to further deepen cooperation, including in maintaining and strengthening an international order based on the rule of law, with Guatemala that upholds values and principles, and expressed her hope to use the Memorandum of Cooperation about Political Consultation Mechanism to be signed on this occasion as a framework for further policy coordination between the two countries.
In addition, secondly, as a measure to address the migration issues, Minister Kamikawa announced Japan’s humanitarian assistance through a contribution of approximately 3.3 million dollars to UNICEF, and as a measure to deal with root causes of migration and security problem, she explained the commencement of grant aid which provides water and sewage maintenance equipment and investment by Japanese companies, and stated that Japan will continue to support sustainable economic and social development of Guatemala as a major donor.
Furthermore, thirdly, she also expressed her respect for the efforts of President Arévalo’s Administration regarding gender equality including WPS, and her desire to further deepen cooperation through international frameworks such as WPS Focal Point Network. - Minister Martínez, in response, agreed to strengthen cooperation to maintain and enhance the international order based on the rule of law, and expressed his welcome and expectation for the launch of bilateral political consultation. He also expressed his deep appreciation for Japan's long-standing cooperation and the implementation of new projects, and expressed continued high expectations for Japan's development cooperation. Furthermore, Minister Martínez explained that President Arévalo’s Administration was inaugurated with half of its cabinet member being women and there are also many female senior officials.
- The two ministers exchanged views on regional situations such as the situation in East Asia including China, Taiwan and North Korea, Russia's aggression in Ukraine, and the situation between Israel and Palestine, as well as cooperation at the international for a such as Security Council reform and disarmament and non-proliferation. They shared views that cooperation among like-minded countries which share values and principles is more important than ever to lead the international community toward cooperation, not division and confrontation. Especially, Minister Martínez explained that Guatemala’s support to Taiwan is unchangeable and next year will be 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Also, during the exchange of views, Minister Martínez explained that Guatemala gives importance to nuclear disarmament and climate change. He stated that Guatemala would like Japan to consider Guatemala as a like-minded country in the field of nuclear disarmament and he expressed his condemnation of North Korea's nuclear and missile activities and continuous support for Japan on the abductions issue. Besides, he stated that the political consultation which was launched on this occasion is a framework for continuing discussions on the topics addressed today.
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