Press Releases
Japan-Italy Foreign Ministers’ Telephone Talk
On July 4, commencing at 3:30 p.m. for approximately 20 minutes, Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs, held a telephone talk with H.E. Mr. Paolo Gentiloni, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy. The overview of the talk is as follows.
1. Minister Kishida expressed his heartfelt condolences over the nine Italian nationals who lost their lives in the recent terrorist attack in Dhaka, and Minister Gentiloni also expressed his condolences over the Japanese casualties.
2. Minister Kishida stated that he felt strong resentment against the fact that innocent people’s lives had been taken away in an atrocious and inhuman act of terrorism, and that terrorism could never be tolerated for any reason whatsoever and that Japan firmly condemns it. Minister Kishida also explained that the embassies of both countries were working closely together on the local response, and stated that he intended to continue to cooperate to clarify the truth. Additionally, Minister Kishida explained that he had dispatched Mr. Seiji Kihara, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, to Dhaka to deal with the situation, and that he was doing his utmost to ensure the injured individual and the deceased are repatriated to Japan as quickly as possible.
3. In response, Minister Gentiloni explained the Government of Italy’s response to the incident and stated that he hoped Italy and Japan would continue to cooperate on responding to the case.
4. The two Ministers shared the view that they would continue to coordinate closely as this year’s and next year’s G7 chairs, and would work together on international initiatives for counterterrorism, based on the “G7 Action Plan on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism” (PDF)
that was adopted at the G7 Ise-Shima Summit.