MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th April, 2023) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with US State Secretary Antony Blinken on Tuesday on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers meeting in Karuizawa, with the officials discussing bilateral cooperation in a number of areas, including security and the economy, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
"At the outset, Prime Minister Kishida welcomed the active discussions held at the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, and Secretary Blinken stated that he would like to continue the close coordination between Japan and the U.S. in order to uphold the free and open international order based on the rule of law. The two ministers exchanged their views on Japan-U.S. bilateral relationship, including Japan-U.S. security cooperation and Japan-U.S. economic relationship," the ministry said in a statement.
During the meeting, Blinken also expressed his commitment to further strengthening "response capabilities" of the US-Japan alliance, according to the statement.
Kishida, in turn, "stated the importance of Japan-US cooperation" for the success of the upcoming G7 summit scheduled to take place in Hiroshima in May, the ministry added.
This year, Japan is holding the G7 presidency and is also scheduled to host the key G7 summit in Hiroshima from May 19-21. The G7 foreign ministerial meeting was held from April 16-18 in the Japanese resort city of Karuizawa in Nagano prefecture.
