Countries & Regions

1. At the beginning of the Summit Meeting, Prime Minister Abe said he was honored to be able to officially welcome Prime Minister from Bhutan for the first time since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1986, and that bilateral relations are advancing remarkably as a result of a state visit to Japan by His Majesty the King of Bhutan in 2011. Prime Minister Abe said that on the occasion of this visit by Prime Minister Tobgay he would like to further strengthen bilateral relations with Bhutan.
In response, Prime Minister Tobgay thanked Prime Minister Abe for inviting him to Japan, and said he is pleased to be the first Prime Minister of Bhutan to make an official visit to Japan. Prime Minister Tobgay expressed gratitude for support from Japan thus far, which is contributing significantly to Bhutan’s economic and social development, and said Bhutan also hopes that this Summit Meeting will be an opportunity to advance bilateral relations further.

2. With regard to bilateral relations, Prime Minister Abe proposed establishing director-general-level consultations in order to broadly discuss Japan-Bhutan bilateral relations, including politics, economies and culture.
With regard to economic cooperation, Prime Minister Abe stated that this year is the 50th year of ODA to Bhutan and Japan’s contribution to Bhutan’s agricultural development thus far includes the provision of around 3,000 power tillers, and Japan would like to continue to support Bhutan particularly in the fields of agriculture and basic infrastructure. Prime Minister Tobgay replied that Japan’s support in the field of agriculture forms the cornerstone for the advancement of agriculture in Bhutan and he is deeply grateful. He said he hopes for further support in this area from the Government of Japan.
With regard to people-to-people exchanges and sports exchanges, Prime Minister Abe expressed that Japan intends to donate 100 judo uniforms to Bhutan as a way of strengthening sports exchanges, and Prime Minister Tobgay extended his gratitude in response. Prime Minister Tobgay also said that he hopes tourists from Japan will increase in order to further strengthen people-to-people exchanges.

3. With regard to the cooperation in international arena, Prime Minister Abe explained that based on the policy of “Proactive Contribution to Peace,” Japan intends to contribute even more proactively to the peace and prosperity of the regional and international communities. He also said he hopes to cooperate to obtain concrete progress with United Nations Security Council reform. In response, Prime Minister Tobgay highly praised Japan’s contribution in the international arena, and stated that Bhutan based on the principles of international law attaches importance to the peaceful settlement of disputes. He also said that Bhutan supports Japan becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

4. The dinner hosted by Prime Minister Abe and Mrs. Akie Abe after the Summit Meeting was attended by individuals with connections to Bhutan, including House of Representatives member Nobutaka Machimura, President of the Japan-kingdom of Bhutan Parliamentarians’ Friendship League, and a discussion on strengthening relations and exchanges between the two countries took place in a relaxed atmosphere.