Countries & Regions
Courtesy Call on Foreign Minister Kishida by GUAM Secretary General Chechelashvili
On Monday, August 26, from 10:00 A.M. to 10:30 A.M., Minister for Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida, who is currently in Ukraine, received a courtesy call from H.E. Mr. Valeri Chechelashvili, Secretary General of GUAM. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
1. Foreign Minister Kishida opened the meeting by stating that Japan has been strategically developing its foreign policies on the basis of fundamental values including freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and human rights, and that, since it shares such values with GUAM, there is a potential for Japan and GUAM to be able to further strengthen their cooperative relationship in the future. He added that Japan will continue to develop the framework of "GUAM+Japan", consisting of two pillars: 1) "close dialogues" with a focus on effective promotion of democracy and the market economy in GUAM countries and the exchange of views on regional and international situations and 2) "realistic and substantive cooperation" through holding of workshops.
2. Secretary General Chechelashvili expressed his appreciation for the successful holding of the Fifth "GUAM+Japan" National Coordinators' Meeting in Tokyo in May, and for the assistance that Japan has provided to GUAM to date, including the holding of workshops in Tokyo every year.
3. The two parties shared the view that they will continue to enhance cooperation within the "GUAM+Japan" framework.
(Note) "GUAM+Japan" Meetings
The first "GUAM+Japan" Meeting took place during the Second GUAM Summit, which was held in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, in June 2007. The Fourth Meeting (in Tokyo) was held in February 2009, and the Fifth Meeting was held in May 2013, since then. Furthermore, the First Ministerial Meeting (in Helsinki) was held in December 2008, and the Second Ministerial Meeting (in Vilnius) was held in December 2010.
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