Britain and Japan hold first meeting of foreign ministers and economy ministers

By Alimat Aliyeva

In early 2025, the United Kingdom and Japan will hold the first meeting of foreign ministers and ministers of economy under the "two-plus-two" formula. This agreement was reached during talks between British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Japanese counterpart Shigeru Ishiba, which took place in Rio de Janeiro on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Azernews reports.

Until now, London and Tokyo have held "two-plus-two" dialogues involving the heads of foreign policy and military departments. It has now been decided to expand this framework to include the economic sphere as well.

The United Kingdom and Japan, according to Kyodo, aim to coordinate their policies more closely in response to the intention of US President-elect Donald Trump to tighten trade terms with foreign countries. In particular, this involves a significant increase in tariffs on imports of foreign goods into the United States, a move that has raised concerns among the governments of both the UK and Japan.