Japan, Germany to reach broad accord on info protection pact

February 4, 2019

Tokyo--Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are slated to reach a broad accord on concluding a bilateral information protection agreement, at their summit in Tokyo on Monday.

The two leaders are also expected to agree to promote free trade, bearing in mind protectionist moves by the United States under President Donald Trump, and affirm their cooperation for a summit of the Group of 20 key advanced and developing economies to be held in Osaka, western Japan, in June.

The envisioned information protection pact is aimed at strengthening cooperation between Japan and Germany in the field of security. It will cover the sharing of terrorism-related and other intelligence information and the management of information provided by the other nation.

Japan has concluded similar agreements with eight partners, including the United States, Australia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Following the entry into force of the Japan-European Union economic partnership agreement on Friday, Abe and Merkel are set to confirm both sides' commitment to strengthening economic cooperation.

They are also expected to discuss Britain's planned exit from the EU in late March, as well as Japan-Germany collaboration for stability in Africa and the Indo-Pacific region. Jiji Press