Summary of the 2nd Round of Negotiations on the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement

August 10, 2007
Japanese

The 2nd round of negotiations on the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) was held from August 6 (Mon) to 10 (Fri) in Tokyo.
In this round, Mr. Masaharu Kohno, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, as chief negotiator, Mr. Hidenori Murakami, Vice Minister for International Affairs, Mr. Sumio Kusaka, Deputy Director General, Economic Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Kazuo Haraguchi, Counsellor, Minister's Secretariat, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Mr. Toshihisa Takata, Deputy Director General, Trade Policy Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and Mr. Hiroshi Kishimoto, Counsellor, International Affairs and Research Division, Customs and Tariff Bureau, Ministry of Finance, as well as other officials from relevant Japanese ministries, and Mr. Peter Gray, Deputy Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and officials from other relevant departments of Australia respectively participated.
In this round, useful discussions were held in each area including trade in goods and services, investment, energy and mineral resources, intellectual property, government procurement and improvement of business environment.
The 3rd round of negotiations will be held in Australia in early November, 2007. The detailed schedule will be determined through diplomatic channels.