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Minister Saito Visits France

May 3, 2024

From Wednesday, May 1, to Friday, May 3, 2024, Mr. Saito Ken, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, visited Paris, the French Republic, and attended the 2024 OECD Ministerial Council Meeting and the WTO Informal Ministerial Meeting hosted by Australia.

1. The 2024 OECD Ministerial Council Meeting

In 2024, on the 60th anniversary of its accession to the OECD, Japan chaired the Ministerial Council Meeting under the theme of “Co-creating the Flow of Change: Leading Global Discussions with Objective and Reliable Approaches Towards Sustainable and Inclusive Growth.” From the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Minister Saito participated in the meeting and attended Session 2, titled “Promoting Free and Fair Trade and Investment for Accelerating Sound Economic Growth - A Rules-based, Free and Fair International Economic Order,” and Session 3, titled “Economic Resilience – Fact-Based Issue Identification and Discussion.” In Session 3, as the Chair, he oversaw discussions on topics including supply chain resilience and economic coercion.

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2. The WTO Informal Ministerial Meeting hosted by Australia

At the WTO Informal Ministerial Meeting, participants discussed future approaches to strengthen the dispute settlement function, the negotiation function, and the deliberative function of the WTO, based on the outcomes of the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13) held in February 2024. Minister Saito highlighted [i] the acceleration of discussions with the view to realizing dispute settlement system reform by the end of 2024, [ii] the promotion of discussions on the nexus between trade and industrial policy, and [iii] the importance of concluding the WTO e-commerce negotiations by the summer of 2024 aiming for a commercially meaningful package.

3. Exchange of views with ministers of participating countries and business leaders

H.E. Mr. Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, France

At the meeting held on May 1, the two sides exchanged views toward further bilateral collaboration, such as cooperation on economic security, including in the field of critical minerals. Following the meeting, the two sides signed the “Japan-France Declaration on Cooperation in The Field of Critical Minerals” and concurred to strengthen cooperation to build transparent, resilient, and sustainable supply chains.

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H.E. Mr. Todd McClay, Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Forestry, Minister for Hunting and Fishing, Minister for Trade, and Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs, New Zealand

Minister Saito held a bilateral meeting with Minister McClay and the two sides confirmed cooperation in the field of trade, including the WTO, IPEF, CPTPP, and RCEP. Following this, Minister Saito expressed Japan’s appreciation to New Zealand for showing support for Japan’s stance on the discharge of ALPS treated water into the sea and also stated that Japan will continue to provide information with high transparency.

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Visiting Station F

On May 1, Minister Saito visited Station F and received explanations on France’s project for supporting startups. In addition, he exchanged views with representatives of startups developing successful businesses worldwide, mainly in Europe and Japan.

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Related Material

Division in Charge

Information on the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting:

International Economic Affairs Division, Trade Policy Bureau

Information on the WTO Informal Ministerial Meeting hosted by Australia:

Multilateral Trade System Department, Trade Policy Bureau

Information on the meeting with Minister Le Maire and the visit to Station F:

Europe Division, Trade Policy Bureau

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