Tokyo: Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Saturday departed for her first trip to Europe since taking office in October. She is going to visit the UK, Italy and attend the G7 Summit in France.
In the UK and Italy, Takaichi will meet the respective Prime Ministers Kier Starmer and Georgia Meloni and discuss issues such as the situation in East Asia, the Middle East, and Ukraine, while also engaging in discussions with the leaders of both countries to strengthen bilateral cooperation in security, AI, quantum technology, space, semiconductors, and offshore wind power, with a view toward advancing cutting-edge technology development and enhancing the resilience of supply chains.
Takaichi will then attend her first-ever G7 summit in Evian, France.
“This will be my first G7 Summit, but at the Evian Summit, in addition to addressing geopolitical crises in the Middle East, Ukraine, and the Indo-Pacific, I intend to engage in frank discussions among leaders on urgent issues—such as cooperation toward energy security and market stabilization premised on free trade and the rule of law, taking into account the situation in the Middle East, and strengthening the resilience of supply chains for critical minerals and the like—and to demonstrate our stance that the G7 will unite and lead the international community in addressing these global challenges,” Takaichi noted on X.
On the energy front, she is going to discuss collaborating with G7 partner nations to oppose and counter unjust export restrictions; advancing support for strengthening oil stockpiles in regions such as Asia and coordination with the IEA; and strengthening cooperation between oil-producing and consuming countries to neutralise coercive actions.
“Through these three proposals, we will promote Japan’s vision of leading ‘Power Asia’ to the international community,” Takaichi highlighted on X.
“Additionally, regarding critical minerals, Japan plans to propose a joint stockpiling cooperation framework, under which we will lead efforts to support the establishment of stockpiling systems in G7 countries and promote mutual linkages among those systems,” she added.
(IANS)
