Press Releases
Foreign Minister Taro Kono Holds Lunch Meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand
On May 18, commencing at around 1:50 p.m. for approximately 60 minutes, Mr. Taro Kono, Minister for Foreign Affairs, held a lunch meeting with the Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand, who is visiting Japan to attend the 8th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM8). The overview of the meeting is as follows. Following the lunch meeting the two foreign ministers issued the “Japan-New Zealand Foreign Ministers’ Meeting Joint Press Release on Cooperation in the Pacific (English (PDF)
/ Japanese (PDF)).”
1. At the beginning, Minister Kono welcomed that Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Peters is visiting Japan to attend PALM8, and stated that he intends to further deepen the bilateral relationship between Japan and New Zealand. In response, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Peters stated that he hopes to continue cooperation in order to further strengthen Japan-NZ relations going forward. The two ministers also exchanged views on sports exchanges, beginning with the Rugby World Cup 2019.
2. The both sides exchanged views on the situation in the Pacific region and their countries’ respective initiatives, and shared the view that they will strengthen collaboration in the Pacific Islands region going forward. Following the lunch meeting they issued the “Japan-New Zealand Foreign Ministers’ Meeting Joint Press Release on Cooperation in the Pacific.”
3. In addition, the both sides exchanged views on North Korea and economic partnership, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and shared the view that they will also cooperate on various challenges in the future.