Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi will be in an official visit to the Philippines from Jan. 14 to 15 to meet with Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo, the agency said.
Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi (Photo from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan/Facebook)
In a statement on Friday, Jan. 10, the DFA said that Iwaya’s visit to the Philippines was done upon Manalo’s invitation.
The two officials are expected to hold a bilateral meeting to discuss political, defense, security, economic and development cooperation, and other areas of mutual concern, as well as exchange views on regional and international developments.
“Amidst an increasingly complex security environment, the Philippines and Japan are expected to reaffirm the mutual commitment to further enhancing the ‘Strengthened Strategic Partnership’ between the two countries and to seize new opportunities for cooperation,” the statement read.
“In July 2024, the Philippines and Japan signed a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), which will firmly contribute towards maintaining a secure and peaceful Asia-Pacific,” it added.
Iwaya’s visit will come after a trilateral phone call between President Marcos, United States President Joe Biden, and Japan Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Monday, Jan. 13.
The phone call, originally scheduled on Sunday, Jan. 12, was moved to Monday upon the request of the United States government because of Los Angeles wildfires.
While Palace did not disclose the agenda of the phone call, but DFA spokesperson Teresita Daza said that the three leaders are expected to discuss the progress of the Philippines-Japan-United States trilateral cooperation since their meeting last year.
Next year, the Philippines and Japan will be celebrating their 70th year of the normalization of bilateral relations.