Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi meets with Dignitaries of the European Union

(Meeting with Commissioner for External Relations of the European Commission Christopher Patten and Meeting with Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union and High Representative for EU Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana)

Summary

April 30, 2002

On 29 April, prior to visiting Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran, Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi met Commissioner for External Relations of the European Commission Christopher Patten and Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union (EU) and High Representative for EU Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) Javier Solana, respectively in the Kingdom of Belgium. In addition to reconfirming the steady implementation of the Action Plan for EU-Japan Cooperation issued at the 10th Japan-EU Summit held in Brussels in December 2001 and the creation of action-oriented Japan-EU relations, both sides exchanged opinions mainly on regional situations. The following are summaries of the two respective meetings.

1. Meeting with Commissioner for External Relations of the European Commission Christopher Patten

(1) Foreign Minister Kawaguchi exchanged opinions mainly on the situation in Afghanistan with Commissioner Patten, who had served as joint Chair at the International Conference on Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan held in Tokyo in January 2002. Foreign Minister Kawaguchi explained that the successful convening of an emergency Loya Jirga was important and that in Kabul she would like to signal that Japan stands alongside Afghanistan and is prepared to support it, and also to explain the implementation of Japan's assistance measures for the country. In response, Commissioner Patten stated that the EU was also playing a large role in assisting Afghanistan and that he would like to hold close exchanges of opinions in the future.

(2) In addition, both sides discussed regional situations including North Korea, East Timor, the Middle East peace process and the Balkans. Concerning North Korea, in particular, the Japan side explained to the EU side the importance of resolving the abduction cases of Japanese nationals by North Korea and based on Japan's position, it requested that the EU side work on North Korea to resolve the issues. Furthermore, an exchange of opinions also took place concerning cooperation in measures to address the issue of global warming.

2. Meeting with Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union and High Representative for EU Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana

(1) An exchange of views with Dr. Solana focused mainly on the Middle East peace process. Foreign Minister Kawaguchi stated that Japan was seeking to perform a constructive role in the international community's efforts. In response, Dr. Solana gave an explanation of his recent visit to the Middle East and they shared their views that the two sides would continue to closely communicate with each other.

(2) In addition, both sides discussed regional situations such as those in Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Iraq and North Korea. Concerning North Korea, the Japan side requested, as had been the case in the meeting with Commissioner Patten, that the EU side work on North Korea to have resolve the abduction cases of Japanese nationals.