Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russian Federat : Comment by the Information and Press Department regarding Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono

Between November 23-25, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono will pay a working visit to Russia. On November 24, he will have talks with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, as well as co-chair the 13 meeting of the Russian-Japanese Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Issues (co-chaired from the Russian side by First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov).

We look forward to holding a detailed discussion with our Japanese partners of the entire range of Russian-Japanese relations in accordance with the agreements reached during the official visit of President Vladimir Putin to Japan in December 2016 and intense contacts between the leaders of our countries this year, including the outcomes of the Russian-Japanese top level meeting in Danang on November 10 on the sidelines of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting.

We note that political dialogue between Russia and Japan has become more active. Regular consultations have been held at the level of the leadership of the Security Councils of the two countries. The consultations between the heads of foreign and defence departments in the 'two plus two' format were resumed (March 20, Tokyo), and another round of the strategic dialogue between first deputy foreign ministers took place (Vladimir Titov - Shinsuke Sugiyama, March 31, Tokyo), as well as consultations between deputy foreign ministers for strategic stability (Sergey Ryabkov-Takeo Akiba, August 18, Moscow). Military contacts received a new boost as well. Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Valery Gerasimov, will visit Tokyo between December 11 - 13, and Commander-in-Chief of the Land Forces Oleg Salyukov will visit Japan between November 27 - 30.

Albeit slowly, Russian-Japanese trade and economic cooperation is improving, with the volume of trade during the first eight months of 2017 increasing by 17.3 percent reaching $11.8 billion. However, there are matters of concern since the volume of Japanese direct investment in the Russian economy has considerably decreased (by 70 percent to $140 million as of the end of 2016).

We hope that a number of bilateral meetings scheduled for the near future, such as the 13 meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Issues scheduled for November 24, and the 14 meeting of the Russian-Japanese and Japanese-Russian Economic Cooperation Committees scheduled for the end of this month, as well as Japanese Investor Day with the participation of Deputy Prime Minister and Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev will result in increased investment cooperation.

We attach particular importance to the forthcoming participation of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the St Petersburg International Economic Forum in 2018, which, we hope, will help increase the activity of private Japanese businesses.

Cultural exchanges are one of the most dynamically developing areas of Russian-Japanese relations. They contribute to forming a positive climate in bilateral relations as well as deepening mutual understanding between the peoples of Russia and Japan. This year, two major cultural projects are being implemented in Japan. In June, the Russian Seasons were successfully launched in Tokyo. The 12 Festival of Russian Culture in Japan opened in July.

The peace treaty will be touched upon during the ministerial conversation. In accordance with the agreement reached at the top level, the bilateral dialogue on this topic is continuing, in particular in the context of implementing the top-level Russian-Japanese agreements on the establishment of joint economic activities on the southern Kuril Islands. Currently, the specific parameters of the projects are being elaborated in the areas agreed upon by the leaders of the two countries, such as mariculture, wind power generation, greenhouses, rubbish recycling and the organisation of package tours. To this end, two working groups have been set up within the framework of the main negotiating format at the level of deputy foreign ministers - on commercial and procedural/visa matters, the first meetings of which are planned to be held before the end of the year.

When discussing international and regional affairs, priority will be given to intensifying joint efforts to counter new challenges and threats, including through the coordination in multilateral regional entities.

We welcome the intensification of work on the joint Russian-Japanese initiative to build a dog training centre in Kabul under the aegis of the UNODC.

We expect an exchange of opinions on international topics such as the situation on the Korean Peninsula, and developing a new security and cooperation architecture in the Asia-Pacific Region. The Russian approaches to ensuring regional stability and security will be described in detail. Once again, we will draw the attention of our Japanese colleagues to the danger of deploying elements of the US global missile defence in the Asia-Pacific Region.

The grand opening of the Year of Russia in Japan and the Year of Japan in Russia, which will be held in Moscow at the Bolshoi Theatre on May 26, will be a significant event next year.

Mr Kono is expected to invite Sergey Lavrov to visit Japan next year.