Press Releases
The 6th Japan-Baltic Cooperation Dialogue
On September 14, Ms. ERI Arfiya, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan attended the sixth Japan-Baltic Cooperation Dialogue, which was held in Riga, the Republic of Latvia, with the attendance of Mr. Andžejs Viļumsons, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia, Mr. Martin Roger, Undersecretary of Political Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia, and Mr. Vidmantas Verbickas, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania.
- The heads of delegations discussed Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and shared the recognition that it is important that ongoing diplomatic efforts by relevant countries bring an end to the long-standing hostilities and lead to the realization of a just and lasting peace as soon as possible.
- The heads of delegations reaffirmed their shared recognition that security in the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions is inseparable and that there is a need to further strengthen security cooperation between Japan and the Baltic countries. They also confirmed the importance of cooperation in international fora to maintain and strengthen the rules-based international order, as well as the potential for cooperation in addressing geopolitical challenges and in the field of economic security.
- Furthermore, the heads of delegations discussed the situation in the Indo-Pacific. Parliamentary Vice-Minister ERI explained Japan’s concept of the updated “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP),” and the heads of delegations confirmed that they would continue to work closely together on the situation in the East Asia including North Korea’s nuclear and missile issues and the abductions issue.
- The heads of delegations decided to hold the seventh Japan-Baltic Cooperation Dialogue in Estonia.
(Reference)The “Japan-Baltic Cooperation Dialogue”
The “Japan-Baltic Cooperation Dialogue” was established by the leaders of Japan and the Baltic countries in order to further promote Japan-Baltic cooperation in a wide range of areas when former Prime Minister ABE Shinzo visited the three Baltic countries in January 2018 for the first time as Prime Minister of Japan.