On September 24, 2018, in New York, the 6th GUAM-Japan Ministerial Meeting was held on the sidelines of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly.

The GUAM side was represented by: H.E. Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan; H.E. Mr. David Zalkaliani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia; H.E. Mr. Tudor Ulianovschi, Minister for Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova, GUAM Chairmanship; H.E. Mr. Sergiy Kyslytsya, Deputy 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 reconfirmed the universally recognized norms and principles of international law, including those enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and underlined the importance of international efforts with the aim to the soonest settlement of the conflicts in the GUAM area based on 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 human rights.

The sides exchanged their views on the regional and international issues and emphasized the utmost importance of enhanced GUAM-Japan interaction, aimed at ensuring peace, security, prosperity and stability on both regional and interregional levels and reconfirmed their commitment to continue to broaden and strengthen their bonds in the future. 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), 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.

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 outcomes of the GUAM-Japan Workshop on Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion, which was held in Japan on January 28 – February 3, 2018. The two sides decided to organize the Workshop on Investment Promotion next year in Japan.

Japanese side welcomed the decision of the GUAM Member States to conduct the press-tour for Japanese mass-media by the end of this year as a follow-up cooperation of the Workshop on Tourism Promotion (29 January – 4 February 2017, Tokyo) and expressed its intention to support the follow-up cooperation of the GUAM member states after the workshops, including that of Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion.

The two sides reconfirmed their interest and readiness to further 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.