The United States and Japan will hold a virtual meeting of the Security Advisory Committee between the two countries next Thursday, in which they will discuss, among others, their alliance in the Indo-Pacific region and the covid-19 pandemic, the Department reported on Tuesday. of State.
The Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, will be on behalf of the United States, while the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yoshimasa Hayashi, and his counterpart of Defense, Nobuo Kishi, will participate in Japan, said in a statement. State Department spokesman Ned Price.
The United States Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, will also be part of the meeting.
The delegations will discuss, among other issues, the ways in which both countries can strengthen their alliance to “promote a free and open Indo-Pacific region”, as well as to address the covid-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, and other challenges. global.
This meeting under the “2 + 2” modality, according to the note, “has long been a high-level forum for cooperation in foreign policy and defense” between the two countries.
On October 5, the Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, and President Joe Biden held a telephone conversation of about 20 minutes, which was the first diplomatic contact of the Japanese president after he assumed office the day before.
During the call, the heads of Government recalled the commitment of both countries to protect their interests in the Indo-Pacific region, where China has increased its activities, Kishida explained to journalists at the time.