Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, held a meeting and luncheon at the Prime Minister's Office between 11:20 A.M. and 2:15 P.M. on June 7 with H.E. Mr. Francois Hollande, President of the French Republic, who visited Japan as a state guest. An outline of events is as follows:

1. Initial Remarks
   
   Prime Minister Abe put forward the following three proposals as guidelines for the broad direction of cooperation between Japan and France. President Hollande gave explicit consent to them, while expressing hopes to send a joint message at the upcoming Group of Eight (G8) summit that the two countries will promote a strategy of economic growth.
   
   (1) Aiming to achieve a world based on such values as "law" and "freedom," instead of "force" and "coercion."
   
   (2) Making use of the high technological competence of Japan and France to contribute to powerful growth of the world economy.
   
   (3) Promoting exchanges between their peoples in a way that strengthens each other's cultural transmitting capacity.
   
   
2. Political and Security Fields
   
   (1) Fight against Terrorism/Africa
   
   Prime Minister Abe proposed strengthening cooperation in information gathering in Africa and other areas, based on the lessons learned from the terrorist incident in Algeria in January this year. President Hollande explained about France's fight against terrorism in Mali, and the two leaders agreed to reinforce cooperation on counter-terrorism measures.
   
   Based on the results of the fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V), the two leaders agreed to work together on African development, such as promoting rice cultivation on the continent, in order to eradicate poverty, which is seen as one of the root causes of terrorism.
   
   (2) Cooperation in the Pacific
   
   Recognizing that France has the world's second-largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and two-thirds of the EEZ is in the Pacific, Prime Minister Abe described Japan and France as "friends in the Pacific" and said Japan hopes to explore the possibility of cooperation with France with focus on humanitarian assistance and national disaster reduction in the Asia-Pacific region. President Hollande agreed, saying that France hopes to work with Japan in order to foster a greater sense of unity in the region.
   
   
3. Agreements with Respect to Bilateral Relations
   
   (1) In the areas of politics and security, Prime Minister Abe and President Hollande agreed that Japan and France will (a) hold a meeting of foreign and defense ministers; (b) promote cooperation regarding defense equipment; (c) set up a consultation forum on export controls, in order to "achieve a world based on common values."
   
   (2) In the economic field, the two leaders agreed to promote an economic growth strategy and move forward cooperation between Japanese and French businesses in such areas as aerospace and nuclear energy, following in the footsteps of the successful bid by a consortium of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Areva SA to win a nuclear power plant construction project in Turkey.
   
   (3) The two leaders agreed that Japan and France, culinary giants of the East and West, will communicate each other's cuisine cultures to the world.
   
   
4. International and Regional Situations
   
   (1) The two leaders agreed to continue stressing that possession of nuclear weapons by North Korea will never be tolerated. Prime Minister Abe asked for France's continued understanding and cooperation regarding the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea decades ago. President Hollande pledged France's full cooperation.
   
   (2) President Hollande expressed France's support for Japan's aim of becoming a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. The two leaders agreed to maintain dialogue in order to achieve Security Council reforms.
   
   
5. Wrapping up their meeting, the two leaders announced a "Japan-France Joint Statement" (French) (PDF) on bilateral cooperation in the three areas of politics and security, the economy and culture, along with a "Road Map" (French) (PDF) for putting the content of the Statement into action over the coming five years and a "Joint Declaration on Culture" (French) (PDF).