Press Releases

From 6:15 pm. on March 21, Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs, held a 25 minute meeting with H.R.H. Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain, who is on an official working visit to Japan. The overview of the meeting is as follows.

1. At the begining of the meeting, Minister Kishida welcomed H.R.H. Prince Salman to Japan and stated his expectations that the visit will lead to the further development of Japan-Bahrain relations. In response, H.R.H. Prince Salman said that he believed that the visit will further develop the strong relationship between the two countries.
2. Minister Kishida mentioned that Bahrain serves as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) chair this year, and that he wishes to hold a strategic dialogue at an appropriate time. Minister Kishida also raised the issue of the Japan-GCC Free Trade Agreement (FTA), stating that after the approval of the GCC Ministerial Council, he wishes to restart negotiations at the earliest possible date. In response, H.R.H. Prince Salman said that the dialogue with Japan is important and stated that he wants to hold a Japan-GCC strategic dialogueduring the tenure of Bahrain as the GCC chair.
3. In addition, Minister Kishida requested that import restrictions on Japanese food products be revised and eliminated at an early date, noting that many countries around the world have already eliminated such import restrictions and that the reconstruction has advanced steadily in Japan H.R.H. Prince Salman replied that he recognizes the safety of Japanese food products, and said that he wants to move on to the next step.
4. In addition, the two sides exchanged views on cooperation in the international arena and regional situations.