On the sidelines of the U.N. climate summit that kicked off in Paris on Monday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had brief talks with leaders from France, India, China, South Korea and several other nations.
Only about 25 minutes before the opening of the 21st Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21), Abe was seen talking to Indonesian President Joko Widodo and a dozen or so other leaders, who formed a line in front of him in order to have a moment with the prime minister, according to his aide.
Formal talks had been scheduled with four leaders: French President Francois Hollande, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In talks with the French president, Abe conveyed his condolences for the victims of the terrorist attacks in Paris and said, “I strongly condemn such terrorist acts, which challenge values we hold in common.”
Abe stood talking with 32 other leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Abe approached the Chinese president himself for a brief conversation, during which Xi purportedly said: “We should deal properly with the delicate problems between us and place importance on [Japan-China] relations.”
The Chinese president is believed to have made this statement in response to repeated criticism from Abe over artificial islands built by China in the disputed South China Sea.
Abe responded by saying that Japan is interested in promoting further cooperation between the two countries by cultivating human exchange.
The Japanese prime minister exchanged short greetings with the South Korean president while waiting for a photo shoot of the world leaders. With many issues related to China and South Korea remaining unsolved, Abe seemed to have thought it best to offer a friendly gesture toward Japan’s neighbors in Asia.
In a brief conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is in a tight spot after Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane led to a deterioration in relations with Russia, Abe volunteered to serve as a mediator between the Turkish side and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Abe also met World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development Secretary General Angel Gurria.
The prime minister, addressing the climate summit on Monday evening, said that Japan’s public and private sectors will aim to contribute about ¥1.3 trillion in annual financial aid to developing countries by 2020 to help them fight climate change.( Hiroshi Tajima / Yomiuri Shimbun)
Link: http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002597885
20
