(VOVWORLD) -Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and NATO on Wednesday agreed on a new document on expanding their cooperation in addressing new and traditional security challenges amid the rapidly changing world.
 Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (left) and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Photo: Reuters
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During a meeting with Prime Minister Kishida, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said "no other partner is closer to NATO than Japan", and affirmed the importance of Asia to Europe and vice versa, saying what happens in Asia matters for Europe and what happens in Europe, matters for Asia. He also pointed out some of NATO’s military concerns.
Kishida said the new deal comes not only in response to an increasingly severe international security environment but also in recognition that the security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific are “inseparable.”
After a private meeting with Prime Minister Kishida, Secretary General Stoltenberg had a joint meeting with the leaders of four NATO Asia-Pacific partners (AP4), including Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. Leaders of these countries joined discussions of NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.