Japan's Takaichi Leaves for South Korea to Attend Summit, Says Energy Cooperation Will Be Discussed

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[The Financial News] Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi departed Haneda Airport in Tokyo on the morning of the 19th and headed to South Korea. Her visit is scheduled to last two days and one night, and she will hold a summit with President Lee Jae Myung in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, later in the day.
According to Kyodo News, Takaichi told reporters at the Prime Minister's Office of Japan in Tokyo on the morning of the 19th, before leaving for the airport, that she would visit South Korea and hold a summit with President Lee. She emphasized that "the importance of Japan-South Korea relations and trilateral cooperation among Japan, the United States and South Korea is growing even greater under the current strategic environment."
Takaichi said that "under these circumstances, the two governments agreed to communicate closely in order to develop Japan-South Korea relations in a future-oriented and stable way, and this visit will also be an important opportunity for that."
She also said, "I hope to have in-depth discussions with President Lee on cooperation between the two governments and the direction of Japan-South Korea relations in the current severe international situation, including the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific, and to produce concrete results." Takaichi added that she also wants to fully discuss ways to cooperate on energy in light of the situation in South Korea and the Middle East.
Takaichi will attend the summit in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, President Lee's hometown, on the afternoon of the 19th. Lee visited Nara Prefecture, Takaichi's hometown in Japan, in January. The two leaders' official meeting will be their third, following the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' Meeting in Gyeongju (APEC) in October last year and another meeting in January.
 
pjw@fnnews.com Park Jong-won Reporter