Japan-Australia Prime Ministers’ Informal Talks (Summary)

[Provisional translation]

On May 21, commencing at 10:30 a.m. for approximately 10 minutes, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, held informal talks with the Hon. Anthony Albanese, MP, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia who was visiting Japan. The overview of the talks is as follows.

1. Prime Minister Kishida expressed his appreciation for Prime Minister Albanese’s participation in the G7 Hiroshima Summit. Prime Minister Kishida stated that the unity of like-minded countries is necessary to realize a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)" and that he would like to continuously coordinate with Australia, the "Special Strategic Partner” of Japan.
2. Prime Minister Kishida stated that it is clear that Japan and Australia share a common strategic awareness and a direction of the way forward, which is encouraging. The two leaders welcomed the progress in security cooperation between Japan and Australia under the direction set out in the new Japan-Australia Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation signed last October, and expressed their expectations for the early entry into force of the Japan-Australia Reciprocal Access Agreement, which will also contribute to the implementation of the Declaration.
3. The two leaders reaffirmed the importance of Japan-Australia cooperation in the field of resources and energy.