Japan Eyeing 4-Way Summit with S. Korea, Australia, New Zealand

Tokyo, June 20 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is planning to hold a four-way summit with South Korean, Australian and New Zealand leaders when he visits Madrid to attend a NATO summit from June 29, government sources revealed Monday.

The envisaged four-way meeting is expected to be attended by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

A South Korean government official said Seoul is considering its response to Tokyo's proposal to hold the four-way summit.

Through the meeting, Kishida, who is scheduled to arrive in Spain after participating in a Group of Seven summit in Germany, hopes to promote efforts to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific, with China in mind, and beef up cooperation with NATO members.

NATO invited Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand to its summit as its Asia-Pacific partners, attaching great importance to the four nations, with whom it shares common values such as the rule of law, at a time when Russia is invading Ukraine and China is becoming hegemonic.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]