Meeting to Promote Cooperation with Global South Countries

[Provisional translation]

 

On June 11, 2024, Prime Minister Kishida participated in the 2nd meeting to promote cooperation with Global South countries at the Prime Minister’s Office.
 
At the meeting, the participants engaged in discussions on the draft New Policy toward Enhanced Cooperation with Global South Countries.
 
Following the discussion, the Prime Minister said:
 
“Japan regards Global South countries as its partners that will achieve growth and create the future together with Japan. As such, Japan will work with them to realize decarbonization as well as diversification and increased resilience of economies and industries, while staying close to vulnerable countries faced with a variety of challenges and advancing multi-layered cooperation in a wide range of areas.
 
Such cooperation will not only serve Japan’s national interests, including economic security aspects, but also protect human dignity and lead the international community from division and confrontation to cooperation.
 
We will seize such opportunities as the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM) this July, ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)-related Summit Meetings in October, G20 (Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy) and APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Summit Meetings in Latin America in November, “Central Asia plus Japan” Dialogue and related summit meetings, and TICAD 9 (Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development) in August next year, so that we can deepen multi-layered relations.
 
In line with the policy compiled today, the relevant ministries and agencies will continue to work together on the promotion of such efforts as:

1. To strengthen support that even covers the installation of facilities and equipment and to enhance industrial cooperation with Global South countries through local expansion of Japanese companies, in order to address risks that private companies cannot bear, in fields where Japan has strengths and where the future of Global South countries lies, including green transformation (GX), digital, critical minerals, and next-generation automobiles;
2. To expand official development assistance (ODA) in various ways, utilize ODA even more effectively and strategically, and promote the implementation of the Development Cooperation Charter revised last June, including “offer-type” cooperation; and to develop new mechanisms of international cooperation, such as strengthening the development of the environment for corporate economic activities through ODA and other public finance and utilizing them as a catalyst for further promotion of private finance mobilization; and
3. To review the Infrastructure System Overseas Promotion Strategy and formulate a new strategy under which public and private sectors will cooperate to take on challenges, including in new areas that go beyond the traditional concept of infrastructure.

I ask you to incorporate the content above in the Basic Policy on Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform and carry out various programs with the aim of co-prosperity with Global South countries.”