On August 27, commencing at around 07: 20 p.m. (local time; August 28, around 03:20a.m. JST) for approximately 25 minutes, Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan who is visiting Tunisia to attend the 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8), paid a courtesy call on H.E. Mr. Wavel John Charles RAMKALAWAN, President of the Republic of Seychelles. The overview of the courtesy call is as follows.
- At the outset, Minister Hayashi commended the peaceful and democratic transition of power in Seychelles after its election two years ago. President Ramkalawan expressed his condolences to former Prime Minister Abe and Minister Hayashi expressed his gratitude. Minister Hayashi stated that Japan intends to support the Seychelles’s initiatives including the countermeasures against climate change, emphasizing that Japan shares with Seychelles, which has vast an EEZ, challenges towards realization of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific. In response, President Ramkalawan, emphasizing strong bilateral relations between Japan and Seychelles, expressed his appreciation for Japan's extensive support for Seychelles. They confirmed to further develop bilateral relations based on the initiatives that Japan announced at TICAD 8.
- Minister Hayashi then stated that it is essential for the international community to cooperate in its response to Russia's aggression against Ukraine, and that Japan intends to continue contributing to strengthening food security in Africa. President Ramkalawan expressed his appreciation for the support from Japan. Minister Hayashi also raised the importance of transparency and fairness of development finance and the two sides confirmed to cooperate with each other.
- Furthermore, the two sides shared the view to continue to work together in responding to regional and international issues, such as North Korea, including on the nuclear, missile, and abductions issues and strengthening of the functions of the United Nations as a whole, including the Security Council reform. They also confirmed to coordinate to maintain and strengthen the NPT regime following the recent NPT Review Conference.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
