On July 5, commencing at 10:00 a.m. for approximately 30 minutes, Mr. TSUJI Kiyoto, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, held a meeting with H.E. Mr. Romuald WADAGNI, Minister of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Benin. The overview of the meeting is as follows.

1. At the outset, State Minister Tsuji expressed his warm welcome to Minister Wadagni for visiting Japan and showed his gratitude for the letter from H.E. Mr. Talon, President of the Republic of Benin, for the Noto Peninsula Earthquake that occurred in January this year. State Minister Tsuji also stated that Japan recognizes significant importance to the relationship with Benin and that Japan would like to take the opportunity of the TICAD Ministerial Meeting next month and TICAD 9 in August next year to deepen the bilateral relationship with Benin. In response, Minister Wadagni expressed his gratitude for the support of Japan to date and his expectation to further strengthen bilateral cooperation.
2. The two sides confirmed that they would work for further development of bilateral relations through cooperation on infrastructure development, industry promotion and improvement of people’s living environment, as well as peace and stability in Benin as a gateway to the Sahel region.
3. The two sides concurred on continuing to work closely to address global issues, while confirming to co-create innovative solutions to challenges that will lead to prosperity and transformation for both Japan and Africa, through the TICAD process.