Countries & Regions

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the Republic of Turkey on Friday, May 3. An outline of major events during the visit is as follows:

1. Major Events

(1) Attended the Japan-Turkey Business Council
(2) Laid a wreath at the Mausoleum of Kemal Ataturk
(3) Visited the Turkish-Japanese Foundation Culture Center
(4) Japan-Turkey summit meeting, a signing ceremony for a "Joint Declaration on the Establishment of Strategic Partnership between Japan and the Republic of Turkey," a joint press announcement, and a banquet

2. Outline and Results of Visit

(1) Attended the Japan-Turkey Business Council

Prime Minister Abe attended a meeting of the Japan-Turkey Business Council for approximately 40 minutes from 9:05 P.M. Addressing the meeting, he called on representatives from Japanese and Turkish businesses to contribute to further development of relations between the two countries, and expressed the Japanese government's readiness to make efforts for the sake of further development of bilateral economic relations.

(2) Laid a Wreath at the Mausoleum of Kemal Ataturk

Prime Minister Abe and his wife visited the Mausoleum of Kemal Ataturk, the mausoleum for the first president of Turkey, for approximately 20 minutes from 10:05 A.M., and laid a wreath on the coffin of President Kemal Ataturk

(3) Visited the Turkish-Japanese Foundation Culture Center

Prime Minister Abe and his wife visited the Turkish-Japanese Foundation Culture Center for approximately 40 minutes from 10:40 A.M. They held talks with Cemil Cicek, the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, and his wife, and cut the tape to open an exhibition entitled "Wind of Japan," commemorating the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the center.

(4) Japan-Turkey summit meeting, Signing Ceremony, Joint Press Announcement, and Banquet

Prime Minister Abe held a summit meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey, from 1:50 P.M. to 5:45 P.M. (with a break of approximately one and a half hours for a press conference by Prime Minister Abe) after a welcoming ceremony at the Prime Minister's office. Following the break, the two leaders were joined by major business leaders from both countries at the summit meeting. After the meeting, the two leaders signed a "Joint Declaration on the Establishment of Strategic Partnership between Japan and the Republic of Turkey" (English/Provisional Japanese Translation), and exchanged documents on Agreement for Co-Operation In the Use of Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Purposes and Agreement on Co-Operation for Development of Nuclear Power Plants and the Nuclear Power Industry in the Republic of Turkey(Note), both of which had been signed beforehand, and made a joint press announcement. A banquet hosted by Prime Minister Erdogan was held from 6:55 P.M.

（Note:Agreement on Co-Operation for Development of Nuclear Power Plants and the Nuclear Power Industry in the Republic of Turkey was terminated on Tuesday, June 22, 2021.）

Following is an outline of discussions at the summit meeting:

Politics

Prime Minister Abe invited Prime Minister Erdogan to visit Japan, and Prime Minister Erdogan said he hopes to pay a visit as soon as possible. They agreed to start periodic meetings between the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the two countries, and hold the first round of the talks in Japan when Dr. Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey's Minister for Foreign Affairs, visits the country later in the current fiscal year. Prime Minister Erdogan invited Prime Minister Abe to attend an opening ceremony for the Bosphorus Rail Tube Crossing slated for October this year.

The two leaders agreed to promote bilateral consultations, dialogues and cooperation in the fields of diplomacy, finance, health, education, culture, defense, public security and disaster management.

Prime Minister Erdogan expressed concerns over the serious situation in Syria, the exodus of a large number of refugees in particular. Prime Minister Abe expressed his gratitude to Turkey for the country's acceptance of refugees and explained Japanese efforts, including humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people. They agreed to work together on issues related to Syria.

They reaffirmed continuing bilateral cooperation in the international fora, such as the fight against terrorism, arms reduction and prevention of nuclear proliferation, and assistance to third countries, such as training of police officers in Afghanistan.

Economy

The two leaders agreed to promote trade and investment between their countries and further raise the bilateral economic relations to a higher level. In this context, they agreed to accelerate the process for eventually concluding Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations between Japan and Turkey.

Regarding nuclear energy, Prime Minister Erdogan expressed his government's intention to grant Japan the exclusive right of negotiating for the Sinop nuclear power plant project. Prime Minister Abe said he is pleased that two agreements on nuclear energy were signed the same day.

The two leaders welcomed increasing participation and investment by Japanese businesses in a range of fields in Turkey, represented by orders in communication and broadcasting satellites, the Bosphorus Rail Tube Crossing Project and the Izmit Bay Bridge Construction Project. They also expressed their hopes for further Japanese contributions in these fields.

Cultural and Human Exchanges

On natural disaster management, Prime Minister Abe said Japan has improved its yen loan program so that even high-income countries like Turkey can make use of Japanese know-how and technologies. The two leaders agreed to facilitate cooperation in the field.

Prime Minister Erdogan proposed the establishment of a joint university of science and technology. Prime Minister Abe said Japan would like to promote cooperation with Turkey in the science and technology field, including the signing of Memorandum for Co-Operation between related organizations of the two countries.

Prime Minister Abe said Japan's public and private sectors together hope to provide assistance for the development of space ventures in Turkey.