Biden and Kishida Have Brief Talk at COP26... Agree on Early US-Japan Summit

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is delivering a speech at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).
Photo by AFP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Japanese media reported on the 3rd that U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have agreed to hold an official summit meeting in the near future.

The media reported that President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida had a brief conversation on the 2nd at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) being held in Glasgow, UK. Prime Minister Kishida expressed to the Japanese press his desire to visit the United States early, including within this year, for the U.S.-Japan summit.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that the U.S. and Japanese leaders "agreed to hold a U.S.-Japan summit, including an early visit by Prime Minister Kishida within this year."

The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the conversation between the two leaders as a "short meeting," announcing that the two confirmed their commitment to further strengthen the U.S.-Japan alliance and to continue close cooperation on realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific, regional security, and climate change response.

Prime Minister Kishida, at a press conference following the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's victory in the House of Representatives election on the 1st, said, "I will actively engage in summit diplomacy," adding, "I will visit allied and friendly countries, including the United States, as early as possible and invite their leaders to our country."

Although attending the COP26 summit for just over half a day, Prime Minister Kishida also held bilateral talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

According to Kyodo News, Prime Minister Kishida and Prime Minister Johnson agreed to promptly conclude an agreement to facilitate joint training between the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the British military.

In talks with Prime Minister Morrison, Kishida reaffirmed the importance of the Quad, a consultative group aimed at countering China, consisting of the United States, Japan, Australia, and India. In discussions with Prime Minister Chinh, they agreed to accelerate consultations on the export of Japanese defense equipment, such as naval vessels, to Vietnam.

Prime Minister Kishida departed from Glasgow Airport in the early morning of the 3rd on a private plane and is scheduled to arrive in Japan that afternoon.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.