Meetings between Prime Minister Kishida and H.E. Mr. Gudni Thorlacius Johannesson, President of the Republic of Iceland, and Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid of the Kingdom of Belgium

On December 3, 2022, Mr. Kishida Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, met with H.E. Mr. Gudni Thorlacius Johannesson, President of the Republic of Iceland, who visited Japan to give a keynote speech at the World Assembly for Women (WAW! 2022). In addition, on December 5, Prime Minister Kishida held a meeting with Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid of the Kingdom of Belgium, who visited Japan. Overviews of the meetings are as follows:

Meeting between Prime Minister Kishida and H.E. Mr. Gudni Thorlacius Johannesson, President of the Republic of Iceland

Prime Minister Kishida welcomed President Johannesson’s visit to Japan and stated that Japan would like to further strengthen the bilateral relations with Iceland. In response, President Johannesson stated that it was an honor to give a keynote speech at the WAW! 2022, and that he would like to take the opportunity of his visit to Japan to further develop the bilateral relations.

Prime Minister Kishida stated that Japan would like to continue close cooperation on the Arctic issues, the sustainable use of marine living resources and others. In response, President Johannesson stated that he welcomed the development of dialogues with Japan in various fields, and that he would like to further enhance the bilateral cooperation on various global issues. Prime Minister Kishida and President Johannesson also exchanged the views on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the situation in East Asia, and they confirmed that the two countries would work together to maintain the international order based on the rule of law.

Meeting between Prime Minister Kishida and Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid of the Kingdom of Belgium

At the outset, Prime Minister Kishida welcomed the visit to Japan of the Belgian Economic Mission led by Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid and expressed his hope that this visit would contribute to further strengthening economic ties between Japan and Belgium, noting that cooperation on offshore wind power, hydrogen, next-generation semiconductors and DX would be promoted during the Mission’s stay in Japan. In response, Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid expressed her wish to make this visit to Japan an opportunity to further develop relations between the two countries in the economic field.

Prime Minister Kishida and Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid shared the view that both states would continue to strengthen the relationship, including in the economic security field, between Japan and Belgium as strategic partners that share the fundamental values.

• Note: This article was created with the consent of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and on the basis of materials published by the Ministry.