Mr. Iwaya Takeshi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, on Tuesday held an approximately 20-minute telephone meeting with Hon. Enrique A. Manalo, Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines. The overview of the Meeting is as follows: 

1. At the outset, Secretary Manalo congratulated Minister IWAYA on his appointment. Minister IWAYA, while conveying his gratitude, stated that he would like to steadily promote Japan-Philippines cooperation as well as multilateral cooperation, including Japan-U.S.-Philippines cooperation, to maintain and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rule of law.

2. The two Ministers welcomed the remarkable progress between the two countries being made in cooperation in a wide range of areas, including security, economy, and people-to-people exchange, through the mutual visits between the leaders last year and the “2+2” Foreign and Defense Ministers’ Meeting in July this year. The two Ministers confirmed that they will further deepen cooperation in various areas toward the 70th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Philippines in 2026.

3. The two Ministers also exchanged views on regional and international issues and concurred to continue working closely together on the situation in the East and South China Sea.