Press Releases
Japan-EU Foreign Ministers' Telephone Talk
December 6, 2021
On December 6, commencing at 7:00 p.m. for approximately 20 minutes, Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a telephone talk with Mr. Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President of the European Commission. The overview of the talk is as follows.
- At the outset, Minister Hayashi stated that the Japan-EU relations have become closer than ever before due to the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA), and that he would like to further develop this relationship by cooperating with High Representative Borrell. In response, High Representative Borrell congratulated Minister Hayashi on his appointment to office and stated his willingness to work with Minister Hayashi to further enhance bilateral cooperation, including the Japan-EU Green Alliance.
- Minister Hayashi welcomed the EU's Joint Communication on the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. He also expressed his appreciation for this December’s launch of EU’s Global Gateway, the goal of which is sustainable development and support for quality infrastructure. In response, High Representative Borrell stated that he would like to advance cooperation with Japan in a wide range of fields such as security, defense, connectivity, and economic security including supply chain. They shared the view to steadily advance Japan-EU cooperation in these fields.
- They shared the view to strongly oppose unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force in the East and South China Seas. They also exchanged views regarding the situation in North Korea, including its nuclear and missile development, and confirmed they would continue coordinating on how to respond to North Korea, including in regard to the abductions issue.
- They shared their view to continue to work closely together to respond to COVID-19 under the new circumstances of the outbreak of the Omicron variant. In addition, Minister Hayashi requested the early lifting of import restrictions on Japanese food products.