On 27th, Hon. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Foreign Minister of Japan, paid a courtesy call on Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka who is currently in Japan to attend the State Funeral for former Prime Minister ABE Shinzo.
During the meeting, Minister HAYASHI conveyed gratitude to Hon. Wickremesinghe for attending the State Funeral, and Hon. Wickremesinghe recalled the past meetings with the former Prime Minister ABE, emphasizing that he was a great friend of Sri Lanka, and expressed his sincere condolences for his demise.
Minister HAYASHI expressed Japan’s willingness to cooperate for the development of Sri Lanka in order to implement Japan’s vision of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” (FOIP) and referred to Japan’s humanitarian assistance of 3 million USD and additional 3.5 million USD which are currently underway for Sri Lanka, a long-standing friend of Japan. Hon. Wickremesinghe expressed his gratitude for the Japan’s assistance.
Minister HAYASHI highlighted the importance of implementing development finance in a transparent and fair manner, which is consistent with the international rules and standards. Both Hon. Wickremesinghe and Minister HAYASHI shared the common understanding that it is important to carry out debt restructuring with the participation of all the creditor countries in a transparent and comparable manner.
Both President Wickremesinghe and Minister HAYASHI exchanged views on the international situation, including the situation in Ukraine and Indo-Pacific region, and shared the common recognition of the importance of prompt resolution of conflicts. In addition, they confirmed to continue to closely collaborate in addressing North Korea issues such as abduction issues and nuclear and missile issues, including the ballistic missile launch on September 25th. They also confirmed that both countries will continue to collaborate to address global issues such as disarmament and non-proliferation and UN Security Council reform.
