Countries & Regions
Japan-Australia Summit Telephone Talk
September 18, 2013
On September 18, commencing at 12:45 p.m. for approximately 15 minutes, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a Japan-Australia summit telephone talk with the Hon Tony Abbott MP, Prime Minister of Australia. The telephone talk took place to allow Prime Minister Abe to express his congratulations to Prime Minister Abbott on his appointment, and was held with a very relaxed atmosphere throughout.
1 At the beginning, Prime Minister Abe congratulated Prime Minster Abbott on his inauguration as Prime Minister on the same day, along with noting that Australia is a strategic partner sharing the same fundamental values and strategic interests as Japan and stating that he wants to cooperate closely with Prime Minister Abbott in a large number of areas and further strengthen Japan-Australia relations. In response, Prime Minister Abbott expressed his gratitude for Prime Minister Abe’s congratulations, and said he wants to cooperate closely with Prime Minister Abe on enhancing Japan-Australia relations.
2 Prime Minister Abe mentioned that he signed the “Japan-Australia Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation” during his previous term as Prime Minister, and said that he wants to further strengthen Japan-Australia cooperation in the security area. Prime Minister Abbott also indicated his support for the idea.
3 Prime Minister Abe said he wants to work with Australia to establish new economic rules in the Asia-Pacific region and to strengthen Japan-Australia bilateral economic relations through the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and other initiatives, and Prime Minister Abbott expressed his support for that goal.
4 Prime Minister Abe expressed thanks for the support of the international community, beginning with Australia, in regards to Tokyo's successful bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020. Prime Minister Abbott said he is looking forward to the Olympic Games being held in Tokyo.