Telephone talk between Prime Minister Kishida and President von der Leyen of the European Commission (Summary)

[Provisional translation]

On October 17, commencing at 7:50 p.m. for approximately 15 minutes, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, held a telephone talk with H. E. Dr. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. The overview of the talk is as follows.

1. At the outset, Prime Minister Kishida explained Japan’s effort on the situation surrounding Israel and Palestine, and offered his condolences to those who lost their lives due to terror attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian militants. President von der Leyen expressed her appreciation.
2. Prime Minister Kishida unequivocally condemned the recent terror attacks, stated that as the situation is getting severer, Japan is paying close attention to the current situation with deep concern, and has been maintaining close cooperation with various stakeholders for calming down the situation. In response, President von der Leyen explained her visit to Israel on 13th and EU’s response to the situation surrounding Israel and Palestine.
3. Prime Minister Kishida stated that humanitarian situation is the issue of the greatest concern, and explained that Japan intends to implement emergency humanitarian aid amounting to approximately 10 million US dollars. Also, both leaders concurred on the necessity of ensuring humanitarian access and of humanitarian aids in the Gaza Strip. Both leaders also concurred on cooperation for securing safety of their nationals.
4. Both leaders also confirmed the necessity of cooperation between Japan and the EU and among G7 leaders to address challenges facing the international community including the situation surrounding Israel and Palestine, and of taking concerted actions as the international community.