Japan-Hungary Summit Meeting (Overview)

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  Photos: Cabinet Public Relations Office
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  Photos: Cabinet Public Relations Office

   On Wednesday, May 25, Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who is visiting Paris to attend the 50th anniversary Ministerial Council Meeting 2011 of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), held a meeting with H.E. Dr. Orbán Viktor, Prime Minister of the Republic of Hungary, who currently chairs the European Union (EU). The overview of the meeting is as follows.

1. Prime Minister Kan thanked Prime Minister Orbán for the warm messages of sympathy and assistance sent by the people of Hungary, including the Prime Minister and his wife, following the Great East Japan Earthquake. In response, Prime Minister Orbán once again expressed his sympathy for Japan, said that he was impressed by the way the Japanese people had faced the situation, and communicated his hope for the early recovery of Japan.
   
   
2. Prime Minister Kan expressed his strong wish to materialize a Japan-EU economic partnership agreement (EPA), and asked for cooperation from Hungary. In response, Prime Minister Orbán expressed his support for a Japan-EU EPA, noting that EPAs and free trade benefit Hungary.
   
   
3. Prime Minister Kan explained Japan’s nuclear safety and energy policies. In response, Prime Minister Orbán said that there would be no change to Hungary’s nuclear policies, and conveyed his wish for the expansion of technological exchange in such fields as photovoltaic power generation.
   
   
4. Lastly, at the conclusion of the meeting, Prime Minister Orbán said that Hungary intends to strengthen every aspect of its relationship with Japan, including economy and culture. 

(*This is a provisional translation. The above date denotes the date of the issue of the original press release in Japanese.)