Press Releases
Japan-Denmark Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and Working Lunch
November 24, 2021
On November 24, commencing at 11:40 a.m., Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a foreign ministers’ meeting (40 minutes) and a working lunch (70 minutes) with H.E. Mr. Jeppe Kofod, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark, who is visiting Japan. The overview of the meeting is as follows. Following the meeting, the two ministers issued a Joint Press Release.
- Bilateral relations
(1) The two ministers confirmed the steady development of bilateral relations based on the “Strategic Partnership” that was agreed upon by the leaders of the two countries in 2014, and welcomed the progress being made in the coordination of the “Joint Strategic Work Program” aimed at developing Japan-Denmark cooperation in a more concrete manner.
(2) The two ministers confirmed the potential for cooperation in the clean energy and digitalization as particularly promising fields, and decided to further promote bilateral public-private cooperation, which is already making good progress.
(3) Minister Hayashi requested cooperation for the lifting of EU import restrictions on Japanese food products. - Indo-Pacific
Minister Hayashi said that Japan welcomes the Joint Communication on the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific announced by the European Union in September, and that he was reassured by Denmark’s support fora “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP).” The two ministers shared the view to strengthen Japan-Denmark and Japan-EU cooperation based on the Japan-EU Connectivity Partnership. - Regional situations
(1) In regard to the situation in East Asia, the two ministers expressed their strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force in the East and South China Seas. The two ministers also confirmed the importance of maintaining and strengthening a rules-based free and open international order through unity among like-minded countries that share the same fundamental values.
(2) With regard to North Korea, the two ministers confirmed the full implementation of the relevant UNSC resolutions to realize North Korea’s dismantlement of all weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles of all ranges in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner. In addition, Minister Hayashi requested understanding and cooperation for the immediate resolution of the abductions issue and received Minister Kofod’s support.
(3) Furthermore, the two ministers exchanged views on the Arctic, sharing the view that the region is attracting international attention from the perspectives of economic potential and security, and confirmed that they would cooperate closely, along with the other countries concerned, to ensure a free and open order based on the rule of law in the Arctic Ocean. - Cooperation in International Fora
The two ministers shared the view to further strengthen bilateral coordination in responding to global issues such as climate change, as well as in implementing non- disarmament and proliferation initiatives.
(Reference)Annex
Joint Press Release（English（PDF）
／Japanese（PDF））