Press Releases
Japan-Antigua and Barbuda Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
August 4, 2021
On August 4, commencing at 3:35 p.m. for 30 minutes, Mr. MOTEGI Toshimitsu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a meeting with the Honourable Mr. Everly Paul Chet Greene, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Trade of Antigua and Barbuda, who is visiting Japan. The overview of the meeting is as follows. (Minister Greene also serves as the President of the Antigua and Barbuda Olympic Association and his visit coincides with the Tokyo Olympic Games.)
- At the outset, Minister Motegi expressed his gratitude for having been able to co-chair the Seventh Japan-CARICOM Ministerial-Level Conference in July with Minister Greene and hold a meaningful exchange of views at the conference.
- The two ministers confirmed that Japan and Antigua and Barbuda are both maritime nations and are important partners sharing fundamental values including freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and shared the view to deepen cooperation on maintaining and strengthening the free and open international order based on the rule of law.
- The two ministers also held consultations on cooperation on various international issues, including COVID-19 countermeasures, disaster risk reduction, climate change, and sustainable use of marine resources. Minister Greene expressed his gratitude to Japan for the timely provision of seaweed removal equipment as a measure against sargassum seaweed, which is causing further negative impacts to a tourism industry already suffering from COVID-19 and is harming marine resources. Both ministers confirmed that they will continue to promote cooperation in international fora as well.