Karuizawa Apr 17 (EFE).- The G7 foreign ministers began their second day of meetings on Monday in the Japanese city of Karuizawa, where they will address the war in Ukraine and the increase in tensions in the Asia-Pacific, challenges facing the who aspire to send a message of unity.
The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven arrived from 10:00 local time (1:00 GMT) on Monday at the Prince Karuizawa hotel, the venue for their meetings that will last until Tuesday in this idyllic town located between the mountains of Nagano (central Japan). and known as a vacation destination.
The ministers are scheduled to hold four sessions today and a working lunch, as well as a dinner, in which it is expected to make progress on a joint declaration with a common position on the challenges posed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and China’s military rise in the Indopacific.
“I hope that our discussions serve to show the determination of the G7 to maintain international order,” said Japanese Prime Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi in his speech at the opening of the sessions.
The relationship with China
At a working dinner held the day before, when the meeting started, the participants showed their “shared vision” when it comes to maintaining “a free and open international order based on rules”, according to the Japanese presidency.
The ministers also agreed on their “determination to reject unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force”, and to “strengthen cooperation with countries of the global south”.
As for China, Hayashi stressed the need to “create a stable and constructive relationship” with a view to “working together on global challenges and areas of common interest.”
At the same time, the Japanese foreign minister expressed his “concern” about certain behaviors of the Asian giant and called on him to “act responsibly as a member of the international community”, a position shared by the other G7 ministers, according to the Japanese presidency.
Along the same lines, Hayashi stressed the importance of “maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait” as an “essential element for the prosperity of the international community” and urged “a peaceful resolution of conflicts” in this zone.
The position towards Taiwan
The G7 meeting comes after a new rise in tensions around the self-ruled island claimed by Beijing, due to new Chinese military maneuvers in response to the recent visit to the United States by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.
The meeting in Karuizawa also takes place after a series of visits to Beijing by various European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, who caused a great deal of dust by defending greater autonomy for Europe over Taiwan to avoid being involved “in a crisis that They are not yours”, words that the Elysium later qualified.
In this context, the language that the G7 foreign ministers will use in their final declaration, which must be presented this Tuesday, when referring to the situation in Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific, gains more importance.
The meeting of foreign ministers from Japan, Germany, Canada, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States also serves to prepare the agenda for the summit of leaders of these countries scheduled for May 19-21 in the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
The head of European Union diplomacy, Josep Borrell, had planned to attend this meeting, although he had to cancel his trip after testing positive for covid and has been replaced by his chief of staff and deputy secretary general of the European External Action Service (SEAE), also Spanish Enrique Mora.