Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Friday said that Tokyo and Rome agreed to enhance economic security cooperation, as well as supply chains of critical minerals, according to the Kyodo news agency.
The agreement came as Takaichi hosted Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Tokyo.
At a joint news conference with Meloni after the meeting, Takaichi said the two nations upgraded their current "strategic" partnership to a "special strategic" partnership to enhance ties in various fields, such as security and culture.
For her part, Meloni wrote on US social media company X that it was an “important meeting to strengthen a relationship founded on mutual respect, friendship, and shared values, which is rooted in over 160 years of diplomatic relations and looks decisively toward the future.”
“We reiterated our will to further develop an increasingly solid strategic cooperation, from the economy to innovation, from technology to industry, from security to research, and up to the major global challenges,” she said.
Meloni said Italy and Japan are “reliable partners” capable of working together to promote stability, growth and an international order based on rules, dialogue and responsibility.
“At a time when the world is changing rapidly, strengthening ties like these means building security and concrete opportunities for our citizens and for future generations,” she added.
The meeting came after Meloni began a three-day visit Thursday to Japan, marking the 160th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two Group of Seven (G7) nations.
It was Takaichi's first meeting with any European leader in Japan since taking office in October.
Ties between the two nations have strengthened over the decades, with Japan becoming Italy’s third-largest trading partner in Asia, as the bilateral trade volume stands at $11.6 billion.
Giorgia flew to Japan from Oman, and will travel to South Korea for a weekend visit.
By Berk Kutay Gokmen and Necva Tastan Sevinc
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr