Press Releases
Telephone Talk between Foreign Minister Taro Kono and
Dr. Cecilia Malmström, European Commissioner for Trade
November 15, 2017
On November 15, commencing at 5:15 p.m. for approximately 15 minutes, Mr. Taro Kono, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a telephone talk with Dr. Cecilia Malmström, European Commissioner for Trade, and discussed the issues such as the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations. The overview of the telephone talk is as follows.
- Concerning the Japan-EU EPA, they took stock of the progress made after the agreement in principle was achieved on July 6, and shared the view that Japan and the EU would continue to make utmost efforts to conclude the negotiations as early as possible and that they could continue to directly communicate as necessary.
- They also exchanged their opinions on their efforts in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and shared the view that Japan and the EU would continue to cooperate.