Japan and Sweden agreed Wednesday to deepen cooperation in areas ranging from the economy to security by elevating bilateral ties to a “strategic partnership” at the first summit of their current leaders.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, backed Sweden’s move to join the NATO military alliance following Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Ishiba called it a “great pleasure” to be able to lift bilateral ties to the status of a strategic partnership, telling his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson at the outset of the meeting in Tokyo, “We hope to deepen cooperation in the field of security.”
The two leaders agreed that the security of the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific is “increasingly interlinked,” underscoring the importance of collaboration between NATO and its partners like Japan, a joint statement issued after the meeting said.
