On Friday, May 18, Mr. Katsuya Okada, the Deputy Prime Minister of Japan, received a courtesy call by Senator the Hon Bob Carr, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, from 2:20pm for approximately 30 minutes. An overview of the meeting is as follows:

1. Deputy Prime Minister Okada stated that from his experience as the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan working to strengthen the relationship between Japan and Australia, both of which share strategic interests in regional stability and prosperity, he hoped that Japan and Australia would play leading roles in the Era of Asia by strengthening their cooperative relationship further through efforts to address various issues in the international community, in addition to their deepening economic and security relations.
   
   
2. Senator Carr expressed his respect for Deputy Prime Minister Okada's efforts in the initial discussions to launch the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI) in his tenure of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan. Senator Carr also stated that he would like to continue cooperation with Japan for the realization of a nuclear-free world. He also indicated that some political initiative should be exercised for the early conclusion of the negotiations on the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
   
   
3. In addition, Deputy Prime Minister Okada and Senator Carr exchanged views on a wide range of topics, including the United States' strengthening its engagement to the Asia-Pacific region, the rise of China and the benefits brought about from it, and the importance of regional frameworks such as the East Asia Summit (EAS), G20, and ASEAN+6.