Kishida, Scholz say security of Europe, Asia ‘inseparable’

Tokyo, Jun 27 (EFE).- Japan’s prime minister and Germany’s chancellor see the security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific region as “inseparable,” the Japanese foreign ministry announced on Monday.

Fumio Kishida and Olaf Scholz also addressed the common challenges faced by these two regions and promised to strengthen bilateral cooperation during a meeting held on Sunday on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Elmau, Germany, the Japanese ministry said in a statement.

The two leaders pledged to “cooperate toward the realization of a free and open Indo-Pacific” and to coordinate measures in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “in order to protect the international order,” the ministry added.

Kishida and Scholz also exchanged views on energy and climate change and other issues, which will be addressed during the summit that will conclude on Tuesday.

They reaffirmed their willingness to strengthen cooperation in security and defense matters and said that they will continue to hold talks with a view to the next G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, next year.

Berlin will hand over the G7’s rotating presidency to Tokyo at the end of the year.

The Japanese government has already announced its plans to hold the next meeting in the summer of 2023 in the city where a nuclear bomb was dropped at the end of World War II.

The G7 summit kicked off on Sunday at Elmau Castle amid promises of a strong response to Moscow, including an announcement of a ban on imports of Russian gold, proposed by United States President Joe Biden.

Kishida also held a bilateral meeting with French president Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, in which both leaders described the war in Ukraine as a challenge to the entire international community and therefore not only a European issue. EFE

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