Japan-France Summit Talks (Summary)
3 June 2008
Prime Minister Fukuda held Japan-France Summit Talks with President Sarkozy for approximately 30 minutes from 12:15 on 3 June 2008 (Tuesday) at the FAO Headquarters in Rome. A summary of the meeting is as follows.
(Points)
- The two leaders held an exchange of views on the major topics of the Summit. The talks served to deepen the ties of trust between two leaders ahead of the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit due to take place in July.
- The two leaders agreed to work together closely and to cooperate on a host of international issues including the world economy and the environment/climate change so as to help ensure the success of the summit.
Summary of the Japan-France Summit Talks
1. Bilateral relations
Prime Minister Fukuda stated that as this year marks the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and France, it was a good opportunity to deepen the close consultation and cooperation which exist between the two countries, and that he would coordinate to realize President Sarkozy's bilateral visit to Japan.
President Sarkozy replied that he was looking forward to visiting Japan, and hoped that this visit to Japan would boost the relations between the two countries to a higher level.
2. G8 Summit
(1) Overview
On the G8 summit, Prime Minister Fukuda declared that, on the major topics such as the global economy, the environment and climate change, development and Africa, and sharply rising food prices, he wanted the G8 to provide a unified message and wanted to ascertain President Sarkozy's thoughts on these issues.
In response, President Sarkozy stated that he wished to cooperate fully for the success of the G8 Summit this year, and that the G8 needed to be not merely a venue for talks but also for achieving concrete results, and that for this purpose, he would support Japan's initiative. President Sarkozy went on to state with regard to the expansion of the G8 that expanding the number of participating countries was essential for the G8 which should be adapted to the changes taking place in the international community.
Prime Minister Fukuda replied that the G8 was a venue for exchange of frank opinions between a small number of heads of states sharing great responsibilities in the international community, and that this characteristic of the G8 Summit was something of great value and significance. He continued, however, as it was of great importance to have dialogue with new emerging economies and others when tackling global issues, Outreach Sessions with such countries was to be held in Tokyo.
(2) Global economy
President Sarkozy stated that although there were many issues regarding the global economy, it was particularly necessary to deal with the issue of rising oil prices, and that as the sharp rise of the prices was caused not only by speculation, it was important for the international community to combine its strength in order to lower the prices and control their rise. He stated that the international community needed to consider measures for both the short and long term.
In response, Prime Minister Fukuda stated that he believed that countermeasures on both the supply side and the demand side were necessary, and that he wished to discuss these at the G8 Summit.
(3) Environment and Climate change
Regarding climate change, President Sarkozy stated that it was necessary to create a framework open to all major emitting countries' participation and that they needed to agree to halve emissions by 2050.
Prime Minister Fukuda replied that G8 solidarity was essential in order to draw a proactive response from new emerging economies such as China and India, and that G8 countries should agree on matters such as long-term goals, the development of innovative technology, the low-carbon society, and the sectoral approach. He stated that President Hu of China on his recent visit to Japan had indicated his understanding of the sectoral approach.
3. Reform of the United Nations Security Council
Regarding the reform of the United Nations Security Council, Prime Minister Fukuda expressed his gratitude to President Sarkozy for France's support to Japan's efforts to attain a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, and that Japan would continued to ask for France's cooperation for realizing United Nations Security Council reform.
In response, President Sarkozy stated that France had strongly supported Japan's attain a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, and that would continue to support this.
Back to Index