TOKYO, Jan 21 (KUNA) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Mark Rutte on Tuesday agreed to continue closely cooperating on issues which need to be addressed with like-minded countries, including Russia's aggression against Ukraine, Japan's Foreign Minister said. During their 15-minute phone talks, Ishiba and Rutte also confirmed that they will work together to strengthen the relationship between the two sides, as well as NATO and Indo-Pacific partners, including Australia, New Zealand and South Korea, the ministry said in a statement.
Ishiba said that, taking the opportunity of the inauguration of the independent Mission of Japan to NATO last week, he would like to further strengthen the Japan-NATO cooperation, as the security of Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific has increasingly become inseparable and the Japan-NATO relationship is rapidly deepening. In response, Rutte welcomed the progress of the Japan-NATO cooperation, according to the statement.
Tokyo inaugurated the Mission of Japan to NATO in Brussels on Dec. 15, making it as an independent mission from the Japanese Embassy in Belgium. It first established a representative office for NATO in 2018, which was overseen by the embassy. (end) mk.aa