Press Releases
Japan-Spain Foreign Minister’s Telephone Talk
On May 8, commencing at around 4:30 p.m. for approximately 30 minutes, Mr. MOTEGI Toshimitsu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a telephone talk with H.E.Ms. Arancha González Laya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain. The overview is as follows.
1. Minister Motegi expressed his condolences and sympathy to all those affected by COVID-19 in Spain, and paid his respect to the efforts the Government and people of Spain have made to improve the situation. In response, Minister González expressed her gratitude to Minister Motegi for his kind words and explained Spain’s initiative to prevent the spread of the infection.
2. Both Ministers shared the view on the importance of sharing information, lessons and experiences regarding each country’s response to COVID-19, as well as collaborating to develop drug treatments for the disease.
3. Minister Motegi stated that Japan will strive to make its cooperation with Spain substantive, including cooperation toward the realization of Free and Open Indo-Pacific, as the two countries are strategic partners which share universal values such as freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. In response, Minister González stated that Japan and Spain have historically close relationships and that Spain seeks to strengthen its relations with Japan in wide ranging areas, including business-to-business cooperation and people-to-people cooperation.
4. Both Ministers determined to continue working closely together through sharing information and collaboration to combat COVID-19. They also confirmed that when the pandemic ends and bilateral exchanges become ready to resume, they will cooperate to take bilateral relations forward, including through multi-layered people-to-people exchanges such as Japan-Spain Symposium.