Press Releases
Meeting between Foreign Minister Kamikawa and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg
On June 11, from 5:20 p.m. for about 40 minutes, Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a meeting with His Royal Highness Crown Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg, who is visiting Japan leading the Luxembourg Economic Mission. H.E. Mr. Xavier Bettel, Vice Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and H.E. Mr. Lex Delles, Minister of the Economy, SME, Energy and Tourism of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg were present at the meeting. The overview is as follows.
Prior to the meeting, a signing ceremony was held for the Japan-Luxembourg Air Services Agreement and the Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of Space Activities for Peaceful Purposes.
- At the outset, Minister Kamikawa again expressed her gratitude for the assistance from Luxembourg in the Noto Peninsula Earthquake and stated that the close relationship between the Imperial Household and the Grand Ducal Household is the cornerstone of excellent bilateral relations, and conveyed her heartfelt welcome to His Royal Highness Crown Prince Guillaume for his first visit to Japan in about 10 years. Minister Kamikawa also expressed her pleasure to receive Vice Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bettel and Economy Minister Delles as well as Luxembourg Economic Mission, which consisted of about 70 people. Minister Kamikawa expressed her hope that the visit of the Economic Mission would drive the relationship between the two countries to a higher level, including in the fields of space, start-ups, finance and data, and that it would lead to concrete results.
- In response, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Guillaume conveyed his gratitude for the invitation from the Japanese government, and stated that he was pleased to lead the Economic Mission to Japan, and expressed his hope that this visit will further strengthen the relationship between the two countries. Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bettel then stated that the signing of the Japan-Luxembourg Air Services Agreement and the operationalization of the Japan-Luxembourg Working Holiday Program are major achievements, and the two foreign ministers concurred to utilize these frameworks to further strengthen economic relations, including the mutual visits between the two countries.
- Minister Kamikawa and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg concurred to further deepen the relationship between the two countries in preparation for the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai and the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2027.
- Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bettel highly appreciated Japan`s support for Ukraine, and Minister Kamikawa and Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bettel also exchanged views on regional affairs such as the situation in the Middle East and the situation in the East Asia, including the response to the North Korea including the nuclear and missile issues and the abductions issue, then concurred that both countries would work closely together.