Press Releases

On May 21, commencing at 4:05 P.M. for about 40 minutes, Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs, held a Foreign Ministers’ Meeting with H.E. Dr. Maia PANJIKIDZE, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. The overview of the meeting is as follows. Prior to the meeting, the two ministers signed a Memorandum on Cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.

1. At the start of the meeting, Minister Kishida welcomed Minister Panjikidze to Japan and pointed out that Japan and Georgia enjoy very good relations as two countries sharing basic values such as democracy and the rule of law. He also highly commended the peaceful change of government in Georgia through parliamentary elections last autumn, and expressed the intention to continue to cooperate for the development of Japan-Georgia relations. In response, Minister Panjikidze said that she was impressed by Japanese culture as well as its science and technology, and expressed gratitude for Japan’s consistent support on the issues of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia. She also stated that she wanted to develop relations of two countries through mutual high-level visits and consultations between Ministries of Foreign Affairs. She also expressed interest in strengthening economic relations and creating bilateral legal basis.
2. Minister Kishida said that the establishment of democracy and market economy in Georgia served as the foundation for stability and peace of whole Caucasus region. He affirmed that Japan would continue cooperation such as Official Development Assistance (ODA) to support the efforts of Georgia. Minister Kishida also said that he hopes to continue the cooperation with Georgia, the chair of GUAM this year, in the framework of “GUAM+JAPAN”, which creates beneficial cooperative relations among member countries.
3. Minister Panjikidze explained the foreign policies of the new cabinet of Georgia, including such issues as the current state of negotiations for Georgia’s participation to the European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the reopening of dialogue with Russia. Minister Kishida explained recent developments in Japan-Russia relations, including the visit of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. In addition, the two ministers shared views on the importance of cooperation in the United Nations (UN) and other forums in the international arena.