Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will visit Washington in the first half of April to hold talks with U.S. President Joe Biden, with the trip aimed at strengthening Japan-U.S. ties and coordinating efforts to tackle the global COVID-19 pandemic, Suga said here on Friday.

The trip will make Suga the first foreign leader to meet the U.S. president face-to-face since Biden, a Democrat, was inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States in January.

Earlier Friday, at a meeting of the government and the ruling coalition, Suga said, "I would like to make full use of this opportunity to further strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance," adding that he hopes to closely cooperate with Biden on a number of pertinent issues.

Suga's first trip overseas since becoming prime minister last September took place in October and saw the Japanese leader visit Vietnam and Indonesia.

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)