From Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO: This Declaration highlights our shared values and our shared interests. And it indicates areas where we can develop closer cooperation.
This includes working more closely together in managing crisis situations. Intensifying our cooperation in defence science and technology. And improving our ability to respond to disasters, such as the terrible earthquake and tsunami that struck your country two years ago.
Our Declaration also highlights the importance of cooperating more closely to deal with emerging security challenges — terrorism, cyber attacks, piracy, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. These complex challenges require the closest possible international cooperation, including between Japan and NATO. So the Joint Declaration we will sign today is an important document which makes clear how much we value our relationship, and how we intend to invest in it in the future. Because NATO’s global perspective means that stability and security here in the Asia-Pacific area is important for NATO. And stability and security in the Euro-Atlantic area is important for Japan.
Excerpt from speech by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the Japan National Press Club, Tokyo.
From Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO: I am convinced that the joint political declaration we have just signed will make our partnership even stronger in the future.
This declaration highlights that our relationship is founded on our joint values and the common security challenges we face. Japan and NATO are dedicated to the values of individual liberty, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. And although the security environments are different in the Euro-Atlantic region and the Asia-Pacific, we know that in today’s world, we are all connected and our security can be affected by challenges well beyond our borders.
While NATO has no ambition to take on a permanent role in Asia, we see very clearly the advantage of working with like-minded partners like Japan.
That is what we are doing together in Afghanistan. NATO is leading the ISAF mission, under the mandate of the United Nations, to help make sure that it never again becomes a safe haven for terrorists who could threaten international security.
We thank you for Japan’s enormous contributions to supporting security and development in Afghanistan. Our efforts complement and reinforce one another. Because we can do more together than we could do alone.
And that is a lesson which goes far beyond Afghanistan. There are many areas in which cooperation between NATO and Japan could benefit international security. We could work together more closely to avert crises whenever possible, and support the building of security whenever needed. We can do more together to deal with challenges such as disaster relief, terrorism, piracy, and cyber attacks.
So our declaration also charts the course for the future of our partnership, through deeper political dialogue and greater practical cooperation. Because by working together, we can make a real difference for our security and for the rest of the world.
Excerpt from remarks by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen before press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
From NATO: This is the first joint declaration signed between NATO and Japan. In the document, Japan and NATO spell out their shared strategic interests in promoting global peace, stability and prosperity, through pursuing a rules-based international order that promotes peaceful settlements of disputes. It indicates areas where cooperation can be increased, such as closer coordination in managing crisis situations and intensifying cooperation to jointly handle challenges such as disaster relief, terrorism, piracy and cyber attacks. (photo: NATO)
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