New talks strengthen ties
Germany, Japan aim to forge ‘alliance of multilateralists’ working for global prosperity
JAPANESE Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said yesterday that he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel shared a responsibility to work towards global peace and prosperity, with both hoping for a prompt, democratic solution to Venezuela’s leadership crisis.
Merkel, on a two-day visit to Japan, said that Germany recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido as the nation’s interim president, joining many European nations, and said he should organise new elections as soon as possible.
“Guaido is the person with whom we are talking and who we expect to initiate an election process as quickly as possible, and he is the legitimate interim president for this task from the German perspective and also from the perspective of many European partners,” Merkel told a news conference with Abe. “And we hope that this process is as short as possible, and of course peaceful.”
Abe emphasised his co-operation with Merkel during a visit aimed at forging an “alliance of multilateralists”.
“Our responsibility towards working for global prosperity and security has merely increased,” he said, adding that the two leaders would work for a global order “based on rules”.
Merkel referred to an EU-Japan trade deal that entered into force on February 1, saying: “All in all, a trip at a time in which we have demonstrated that, even at times when multilateral agreements are in difficult straits, we are ready to conclude such things.
“Very good win-win situations can occur when all partners talk to each other. Of course, fairness and reciprocity are part of this, but that is what we advocate.”
Abe did not comment on Guaido’s status, but he said Japan wanted a stable, democratic and prompt solution to Venezuela’s political crisis. Several European nations have joined the US in recognising Guaido as interim president, intensifying a global showdown over Nicolas Maduro’s socialist rule. | AP Merkel said a free trade pact between Japan and the EU, The Economic Partnership Agreement, covered a third of the global economy.
“As a protectionism trend has spread in the world and Britain is heading for its exit from the EU, the role played by Japan and Germany has become more and more important,” said Abe.
The two leaders also discussed China’s assertiveness at sea, North Korea’s nuclear programme and Britain’s exit from the EU.
The chancellor offered to collaborate on the Japanese agenda for the G20 summit in Osaka in June. Japan plans to take up the issues of “society 5.0” and deal with data security and ethics. “These are topics that also weigh on our minds,” Merkel said.
Today Merkel is scheduled to hold a meeting with Emperor Akihito, who is to step down from the Chrysanthemum throne on April30 in the first such abdication in about 200 years.
The German chancellor also plans to meet Crown Prince Naruhito, who is set to ascend the throne on May1.
Merkel is also expected to meet students at Keio University in Tokyo.
Her final appointment is set to be a visit to a company focused on the use of artificial intelligence in the new 5G mobile phone standard.
Japan is the second-largest trading partner for Germany in the region, after China. | Reuters