Greece’s Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, agreed to strengthen security, defence and economic ties between both countries during a meeting in Tokyo on Monday.
According to Ekathimerini, both leaders signed a Joint Statement of Strategic Cooperation between Greece and Japan.
“With this statement, our countries significantly upgrade their strategic relations and we inaugurate a field of close cooperation over a range of different sectors of policy: political, economic, climate, digital education, culture and tourism,” Mitsotakis said after the meeting.
The Greek Prime Minister added the statement will act as a guide for bilateral cooperation in the years to come.
The two leaders also expressed “strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion that increase tensions and undermine regional stability and international order” anywhere, including the Eastern Mediterranean and the East and South China Seas.
The meeting between the two prime ministers was followed by a meeting between the delegations of the two sides and an official dinner.
Mitsotakis’ visit to Japan marks the first time in 17 years a Greek Prime Minister has travelled to the country. The last Greek PM to visit Japan was Kostas Karamanlis in 2005.
During his visit, Mitsotakis also met with Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan, Hiroyuki Hosoda.
