Meeting between Foreign Minister Machimura of Japan and Foreign Secretary Straw of the United Kingdom
(Summary)
June 23, 2005
On 23 June, 2005 from about 17:00 (BST) (about 01:00 24 June Japan time) Minister for Foreign Affairs Machimura Nobutaka held talks at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for approximately 40 minutes with Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jack Straw of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The meeting was held during Foreign Minister Machimura's visit to the UK to attend the G8 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in London. The following is a summary of the meeting.
1. Bilateral Relations
| (1) | Foreign Minister Machimura offered his congratulations on Foreign Secretary Straw's reappointment following the general election held in May. Foreign Minister Machimura admired Foreign Secretary Straw for his chairmanship of the G8 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, and expected the UK to play active role during its EU presidency starting from July. |
| (2) | The two ministers shared a view that Japan-UK bilateral relations are in good shape, and they agreed to continue their cooperation on global agenda. |
2. UN Reform
| (1) | Foreign Secretary Straw noted that the UK has been and is consistently supporting the accession of Japan, Germany, Brazil and India as permanent members to the United Nations Security Council. Foreign Secretary Straw also expressed that the UK would support the draft framework resolution when put before the General Assembly of the United Nations and that the UK would cooperate in the consensus building process. In this way, Foreign Secretary Straw renewed clear support of the G4. |
| (2) | Foreign Minister Machimura explained that G4 are currently discussing how to proceed on the resolution. The two ministers agreed that Japan and the UK would continue close cooperation. |
3. North Korea
Foreign Minister Machimura explained once again that the development of nuclear weapons and missile by North Korea are a grave threat to Japan and that it was necessary to resume the Six-Party Talks promptly. Foreign Secretary Straw stated that the international community needs to tackle with these issues unitedly from a viewpoint of preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Foreign Secretary Straw reiterated his understanding and support for Japan's position on these issues.
4. Iran and Iraq
| (1) | With regard to Iran, Foreign Minister Machimura stated that Japan highly appreciated the role of the EU3 (UK, France, Germany) from a viewpoint of non-proliferation, and the two ministers agreed that Japan and the UK would continue close cooperation. |
| (2) | With regard to Iraq, Foreign Minister Machimura expressed his appreciation once again for the cooperation extended by the UK in ensuring the safety of Self-Defense Force (SDF) personnel stationed in Samawah. Foreign Secretary Straw expressed his high appraisal for the contribution by Japan including the activities of the SDF. |
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