Japan, Norway Agree to Upgrade Bilateral Ties to Strategic Partnership

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:39 JST, December 8, 2023

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere agreed to upgrade their relationship to a Strategic Partnership during their talks at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo on Thursday.

The two prime ministers released the first joint statement between the leaders of Japan and Norway during their talks.

“We’d like to steadily work together more concretely, using the joint statement as a new foundation,” Kishida said at the start of the talks.

During the meeting, the two leaders affirmed their commitment to the realization of a free and open Indo-Pacific and highlighted the importance of expressing their concerns directly to China.