Press Releases
State Minister for Foreign Affairs MIYAJI’s Address at the 8th Indian Ocean Conference
February 17, 2025
On February 17, from 4:25 p.m. (11:25 a.m., February 17, local time) for approximately 30 minutes, Mr. MIYAJI Takuma, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, during his visit to Muscat, Oman, attended the 8th Indian Ocean Conference and delivered an address to the audience. The overview is as follows.
- Referring to the then Prime Minister ABE Shinzo’ speech at the Indian Parliament entitled “Confluence of the Two Seas”, State Minister Miyaji said that the connections between the Indian Ocean, which links Asia and Africa and is strategically important maritime transportation routes, and the Pacific Ocean, which Japan faces, have grown stronger. Furthermore, State Minister Miyaji stated that on the other hand, compared to that time, the world has entered an era in which cooperation and division are becoming increasingly intertwined and complex crises such as geopolitical competition and global challenges are rising, and that they are also rising in the India Ocean region as well.
- Noting that Japan has achieved its economic development by benefiting from free trade, State Minister Miyaji stated the goal Japan has consistently pursued- a free and fair order that overcomes divisions - is an essential precondition for bringing quality growth and prosperity to the Indo-Pacific region. State Minister Miyaji also stated that all countries around the Indo-Pacific must be able to share equally in the fruits of growth across this vast economic zone, or else the region risks becoming even more divided.
- State Minister Miyaji referred to the importance of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)”, which have been developed by incorporating various voices from the international community, and its idea that FOIP is not to exclude anyone or impose specific values, but rather to protect vulnerable states by ensuring rule of law and lead the international community towards cooperation rather than division and confrontation.
- State Minister Miyaji mentioned three points to embody these ideas: the promotion of maintaining and strengthening a free and fair economic order; efforts to strengthen maritime law enforcement capabilities and maritime security to protect free seas; and connectivity to flourish the potential of the economic zone from Asia to the Middle East and Africa.
(Reference)
Full text of the speech (English(PDF)
/Japanese(PDF))