The Yomiuri Shimbun
Prime Minister Taro Aso agreed with U.S. President Barack Obama in a telephone talk Thursday to arrange through diplomatic channels a summit meeting soon, according to the Foreign Ministry.
The government hopes to realize the face-to-face talks before the April 2 meeting in London of leaders of the Group of 20 industrialized and emerging economies to discuss ways to deal with the global economic crisis.
According to the ministry, Aso talked with Obama in English for about 10 minutes without the help of an interpreter in the morning.
Aso congratulated Obama on his inauguration as president, and Obama expressed his gratitude, the ministry said. The leaders reportedly agreed to cooperate in dealing with issues including the global recession stemming from the U.S. financial crisis and fighting terrorism while working to strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance.
Aso succeeded in obtaining a promise from Obama to cooperate on the issue of getting North Korea to give up its nuclear programs and the issue of the abduction of Japanese nationals to North Korea, the ministry said.
The two leaders also agreed that their countries should work together on dealing with global issues such as climate change, energy issues and aid to African countries.
(Jan. 30, 2009)
Posts
