Press Releases

On December 20, the 16th Japan-ROK High-Level Economic Consultations was held in Tokyo with Mr. AKAHORI Takeshi, Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Mr. KIM Hee-sang, Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs as the Chief Delegates. Representatives from other relevant ministries from Japan and the ROK also attended.

At the outset, both sides welcomed the holding of the Japan-ROK High-Level Economic Consultations, following the one in the last year. Mr. Akahori stated that in light of the current strategic environment, the importance of Japan-ROK relations remains unchanged, and that he would like to further strengthen the Japan-ROK economic relations in a manner that is mutually beneficial.

During the Consultations, both sides reviewed the world economic situation, exchanged views on a wide range of topics, including responses to various issues in the international community as well as the region, and concurred to continue cooperation between the two countries. They also exchanged views on the recent developments in multilateral frameworks such as the WTO, G20, and APEC, and confirmed our cooperation and collaboration in the international arena.

Furthermore, both sides confirmed the progress of collaboration and cooperation in a wide range of areas, including economic security, climate change and environment, energy, finance as well as aviation, recognizing that Japan and the ROK are important neighbors which should work as partners on the challenges in the international community. They concurred to further promote the strengthening of the economic relations between Japan and the ROK, looking ahead to the next year, which marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of the Japan-ROK relations.