Japan-Argentina Relations
Courtesy call on Argentine Republic President Fernández by Minister for Foreign Affairs Hayashi
January 10, 2023
On January 10, commencing at 11:40 a.m. (local time; 11:40 p.m. on January 10 JST) for approximately 55 minutes, Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, who is visiting Buenos Aires, Argentina, paid a courtesy call on H.E. Mr. Alberto Fernández, President of the Argentine Republic. The overview is as follows.
- At the outset, Minister Hayashi stated that he was pleased to meet President Fernández for the first time, and that many fans in Japan were impressed by the Argentine national soccer team's performance at World Cup Qatar 2022. Minister Hayashi also stated that Japan would continue to cherish its ties with Argentina connected through the Nikkei (Japanese immigrants and descendants) community of approximately 65,000 people. In response, President Fernández welcomed Minister Hayashi's visit to Argentina and expressed his hope to take this opportunity to strengthen Japan-Argentina relations further in fields of trade, investment, science and technology. President Fernández also stated that he would like to have a dialogue on a wide range of international issues and to work together with Japan.
- Minister Hayashi stated that Argentina is a strategic partner with which Japan shares fundamental values, and that Japan would like to take advantage of the momentum created by the 125th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year to enhance bilateral relations further. He expressed his desire to work well together to strengthen economic relations between the two countries, which have great potential, as the importance of Argentina as one of the global mineral and food resource producing countries is growing further under the current international circumstances.
- Minister Hayashi and President Fernández also exchanged views on the international situation, including Russia's aggression against Ukraine and the situation in East Asia, and shared the view that the two countries would cooperate towards the realization of a free and open international order based on the rule of law.