Japan-Brunei Relations
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida Meets with the Minister at Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Brunei
On July 25, commencing at 10:50 a.m. for approximately 25 minutes (local time), Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs, met with Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Dewa Dato Seri Paduka Lim Jock Seng, Minister at Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Brunei Darussalam, in Vientiane, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, during his visit to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
1. At the beginning, Minister Kishida explained that he hopes to cooperate with Minister Lim as co-chairs of the Japan-ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and intends to strengthen coordination with Brunei, which is the coordinating country for Japan, in order to advance not only Japan-Brunei relations but also Japan-ASEAN relations. In response, Minister Lim stated that Japan is one of ASEAN’s oldest partners, and expressed gratitude for the many contributions Japan has made to the development of ASEAN member countries. Minister Lim also thanked Minister Kishida for Japan’s cooperation in the field of people-to-people exchanges in particular, and explained that as the coordinating country for Japan, Brunei wants to keep working closely with Japan.
2. Both ministers also exchanged views on human rights issues in North Korea, including the abductions issue, as well as issues in the South China Sea, including the Arbitral Tribunal between the Philippines and China.