On September 20, 2017, in New York, the 5th GUAM-Japan Ministerial Meeting took place on the sidelines of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly.
The GUAM side was represented by: H.E. Mr. Araz Azimov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan; H.E. Mr. Mikheil Janelidze, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, GUAM Chairmanship; H.E. Mr. Lilian Darii, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova; H.E. Mr. Pavlo Klimkin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine; and H.E. Mr. Altai Efendiev, GUAM Secretary General.
The Japanese side was represented by H.E. Mr. Taro Kono, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan.
The two sides expressed their congratulations on the 10th anniversary of the GUAM-Japan cooperation, the 20th anniversary from the establishment of the GUAM consultative forum and the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between each GUAM Member State and Japan. GUAM Member States appreciated Japan’s contribution to stability and sustainable development in the GUAM area.
The two sides reconfirmed the universally recognized norms and principles of international law, including those enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, in particular the principles of respect to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of internationally recognized borders of the States. The two sides recalled their commitment to respect the universal values such as the rule of law, democracy and market economy. Herewith, the two sides emphasized the importance of the GUAM-Japan cooperation, which aims at ensuring peace, security, prosperity and stability on both regional and interregional levels. The two sides reconfirmed their commitment to continue to broaden the areas of cooperation and strengthen their bonds in future.
The two sides discussed the recent developments in the Korean Peninsula, condemned in the strongest terms the latest nuclear test conducted by North Korea as well as its repeated ballistic missile launches and urged North Korea to refrain from any further provocative actions and fully comply with its obligations under relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, including the recently adopted UNSC resolution 2375. The two sides also urged North Korea to address at the earliest the abductions issue.
The two sides expressed their strong intention for the implementation of the «GUAM-Japan Cooperation Program» signed during the 3rd GUAM-Japan Ministerial Meeting (3 December 2015, Belgrade), which is a well-established platform for further cooperation, and underlined the necessity of elaborating and implementing new projects for further widening and deepening cooperation between GUAM and Japan in the spheres of mutual interest, enshrined in the Program, such as trade and investments, energy, emergency situations, tourism, transport, culture, agriculture, medical care and environment.
GUAM Member States expressed their gratitude to Japan for its commitment to the GUAM-Japan cooperation, including hosting annual workshops in various fields of common interests. The sides welcomed the joint participation of GUAM Member States in «Tourism Expo Japan 2017» (21-24 September 2017, Tokyo), as a follow-up cooperation of the Workshop on Tourism Promotion (29 January-4 February 2017, Tokyo). The two sides expressed their confidence that the initiative will contribute to facilitation of cultural dialogue and further development of people-to-people exchange between GUAM and Japan. The two sides decided to organize the Workshop on Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion in February next year in Japan.
The two sides reconfirmed the interest and readiness to maintain high-level dialogue, not only on the GUAM-Japan cooperation, but also on a wide range of regional and global issues.
The time and venue of the next GUAM-Japan meeting will be decided through diplomatic channels.
