Meeting between Foreign Minister Iwaya and Vice President of the Government of the Gabonese Republic Barro Chambrier

On July 29, commencing at 2 p.m., for approximately 40 minutes, Mr. IWAYA Takeshi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a meeting with H.E. Mr. Hugues Alexandre BARRO CHAMBRIER, Vice President of the Government of the Gabonese Republic, who is visiting Japan to participate in the National Day Event of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan.

1. At the outset, Minister Iwaya, while congratulating Gabon on the peaceful holding of democratic elections in April of this year, stated that Japan has been cooperating in various fields such as health, environmental conservation, and reinforcement of the rule of law, and has also contributed to the democratization process in recent years. Minister Iwaya also stated that he would like to strengthen bilateral relations, including in the economic field, and to take the opportunity of TICAD 9 to further cooperate with Gabon.
2. In response, Vice President Barro Chambrier stated that Gabon has a young population and needs economic transformation and diversification, and expressed his hope that Japanese companies would invest in Gabon in the areas of infrastructure, energy, minerals, and timber.
3. Both sides affirmed their commitment to work closely together in the international arena and exchanged views on the situation in East Asia such as their policies toward North Korea including on the nuclear and missile issues as well as the abductions issue. In addition, Minister Iwaya asked for Vice President Barro Chambrier’s understanding and cooperation for the immediate resolution of the abductions issue and gained the support.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.