Joint Press Occasion and Meeting between Prime Minister Kishida and NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg (Summary)
July 12, 2023
[Provisional translation]
On July 12, from 8:35 a.m. local time (2:35 p.m. Japan time) for about 20 minutes, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, who was visiting Lithuania to attend the NATO Summit, held a joint press occasion and meeting with H.E. Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
- At the joint press occasion, Prime Minister Kishida and NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg welcomed the agreement on the“Individually Tailored Partnership Programme (ITPP)(PDF),” new programme for Japan-NATO cooperation. Secretary General Stoltenberg stated that the security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions being closely interconnected, it is important to further develop NATO-Japan cooperation. Prime Minister Kishida also stated that Japan and NATO, which share fundamental values and strategic interests, should further deepen their ties.
- During the meeting after the joint press occasion, both exchanged views on regional situations such as Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific, recognizing that the security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific are inseparable, and agreed that it is important to deepen cooperation between Japan and NATO based on the agreed ITPP, based on the fact that their cooperation has been deepened through inter alia disaster relief assistance operation in cooperation with NATO to earthquake damage in the Republic of Türkiye as well as cooperation in the area of cyber. Prime Minister Kishida also expressed Japan's intention to provide Ukraine with non-lethal equipment, such as the Anti-Unmanned Aircraft Detection System, by utilizing the $30 million that Japan has contributed to CAP Trust Fund of the NATO to support Ukraine, and Secretary General Stoltenberg welcomed this intention. Prime Minister Kishida condemned today’s launch of another Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) by North Korea, which undermines regional and international peace and security and stated that the international community has to take resolute actions, and the Secretary General shared the same view.
