Press Releases
Japan-Philippines Foreign Ministers Telephone Talks
On Tuesday, January 28, for approximately 15 minutes from around 12:00pm, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida held telephone talks with H.E. Mr. Albert F. del Rosario, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Republic of the Philippines.
1. Japan-Philippines bilateral relationship
Foreign Minister Kishida and Foreign Secretary del Rosario agreed that Japan and the Philippines will continue to further strengthen the already close bilateral relationship, based on the Strategic Partnership.
2. Mindanao peace process
Foreign Minister Kishida welcomed the successful conclusion of the negotiation between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on the Mindanao peace process reached in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last week. Foreign Minister Kishida also expressed his expectation for the steady progress in the transition process towards the establishment of Bangsamoro Government in 2016, and explained that Japan would continue and strengthen its support for the peace process to consolidate the peace in the region. In response to this, Foreign Secretary del Rosario stated that Japan has long contributed to the Mindanao peace process through the participation in the International Monitoring Team (IMT), International Contact Group (ICG), and the Independent Commission on Policing as a steady and reliable partner of the Philippines in the field. He also expressed his appreciation for Japan’s renewed commitment of supporting the peace process.
3. Assistance to the typhoon disaster in the Philippines
Foreign Secretary del Rosario expressed his sincere appreciation for Japan’s assistance for damages caused by typhoon Hainan which hit central part of the Philippines in November last year. In response to this, Foreign Minister Kishida expressed that Japan is committed to continuing its assistance in rehabilitation and reconstruction phase.