Dialogue on the European Union’s cooperation with Japan at the Latvian Foreign Ministry

On 6 February, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia hosted a High Level Symposium - "EU-Japan Cooperation: Common Challenges and Perspectives" to review the cooperation between Japan and the European Union, Latvia's foreign policy priorities during its Presidency of the Council of the European Union(EU), and the security climate in East Asia.

The event was opened by the Latvian Foreign Ministry's State Secretary Andrejs Pildegoviās. He highlighted the Eastern Partnership and the implementation of the EU Strategy for Central Asia as priorities for Latvia during its Presidency of the Council of the EU and encouraged Japan to cooperate in joint projects. The training programme initiated by the Foreign Ministry for representatives from the Eastern Partnership and Central Asian countries at the Riga Graduate School of Law was mentioned as an example of a successful project. State Secretary Pildegoviās said that Latvia will be hosting the Asia-Europe meetings of ministers for education and transport in April, and the Eastern Partnership Summit in May.

In his speech, the Ambassador of Japan to Latvia, Toshiyuki Taga, said he was pleased that this symposium was taking place and emphasised the importance of the topics being discussed for Japan. Speaking about the EU-Japan relations, the Ambassador stressed the need for the signing of the EU-Japan Free Trade Agreement and indicated that the issues related to the Eastern Partnership and Central Asia were highly important in cooperation with Japan. The Ambassador called for special attention to the security climate in East Asia.

In the first session, which focussed on EU-Japan cooperation, Gerhard Sabathil, Director for North East Asia and the Pacific at the EEAS outlined the basis for cooperation and expressed hope that the Free Trade Agreement and Framework Agreement between both sides will be signed this year. Speakers included Artis Pabriks, a Member of the European Parliament; Keiichi Katakami, the Ambasador of Japan to the European Union; and Professor Yuichi Hosoya from Keio University, Japan. The session was moderated by Prof. Axel Berkofsky, a researcher on EU-Japan relations from Italy.

The second session addressed the EU's Eastern Partnership and cooperation with Central Asia and potential cooperation with Japan in this context. Latvia’s Ambassador-at-Large for the Eastern Partnership, Juris Poikāns, emphasised the importance of the Eastern Partnership in the European Union context and explained that the policy pursued by the EU is aimed at strengthening the relations between the EU and its partners, and is not directed against any third countries. H.E. Keiichi Katakami, the Ambassador of Japan to the EU pointed out that Japan has indeed been expanding its cooperation with Eastern Partnership countries: an Embassy of Japan has been opened in Armenia, and there are plans to establish a Japanese diplomatic mission in Moldova. There was general agreement between speakers from Japan and Europe that stability and sustainable development are priorities in the Eastern Partnership countries. Also speaking in the second panel were the Swedish and Czech Ambassadors-at-Large for Eastern Partnership. The session was moderated by Professor Andris Sprūds, Director of the Latvian Institute of International Affairs and Professor at Riga Stradiņš University. In discussions, the panelists highlighted Japan’s special contribution in Afghanistan.

Speakers at the third session devoted to the security environment in East Asia included Aivars Puriņš, Director of the Security Policy Department at the Latvian Foreign Ministry; Professor Yuichi Hosoya; Gerhard Sabathil, Director for North East Asia and the Pacific at the European External Action Service; and Professor Žaneta Ozoliņa from the University of Latvia. The panel was moderated by Professor Ken Endo, a researcher in international politics from Hokkaido University, Japan. The speakers recognised that security in East Asia should be built on the basis of a dialogue, with peace in the region as its main objective. Any escalation of tensions should not be permitted. Both EU and Japanese experts spoke of practical cooperation that would include a dialogue on cybersecurity and sharing experience in dealing with disaster consequence management.

In his closing remarks, the Chairman of the event, Dr Einars Semanis, Director General of Bilateral Relations Directorate at the Latvian Foreign Ministry, underscored the significance of values shared by the European Union and Japan and close relations that form a basis for cooperation in the Eastern Partnership region and Central Asia, and a peaceful approach to addressing the controversial issues in East Asia.