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President Putin, I would like to welcome you once again in Japan.

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Osaka is a sister city of St.

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Petersburg, your hometown, and you visited Osaka when you 

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served as Deputy Mayor of St. Petersburg.

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I am delighted that our meeting is taking place in this city,

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considering your long-standing ties with it.

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Official agreement on the participation of Japanese enterprises 

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in the Arctic LNG 2 project has just been reached.

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I would like to praise this cooperation agreement,

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which facilitates Russia’s efforts to develop the Arctic and ensures 

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stable energy supply to our country

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In addition, the two sides agreed on investments to set up a prevention 

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and diagnostics medical centre in the city of Khabarovsk using Japan’s 

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experience and technology as its foundation.

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The eight-point cooperation plan that I put forward three years ago 

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paved the way to more than 200 projects,

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and we intend to expand mutually beneficial cooperation moving forward.

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The two sides have set a goal to increase mutual travel flows 

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to 200,000 people from each of the countries to a total 

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of 400,000 visitors per year.

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To this effect, we intend to promote deeper economic ties and step up 

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inter-regional, university and other ties.

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Just now, during the closing ceremony of the Japanese-Russian 

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cross-year, which was a great success,

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I announced that next year would be the first 

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Japanese-Russian year of inter-regional exchange.

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Next year, Osaka and St Petersburg will mark the 40th anniversary 

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of their sister city relationship.

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We are looking forward to further deepening these contacts and hope 

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that new inter-regional links will be formed by various 

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regions of our respective countries.

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Japan also intends to ease visa requirements for Russian entrepreneurs 

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as part of the eight-point cooperation plan beginning September 2019 

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in order to encourage bilateral contacts.

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This is a special initiative devised specifically for Russia.

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A decision was also taken to streamline visa procedures for students 

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from 465 Russian higher educational institutions with the view 

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to expanding youth contacts.

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After all, the future of bilateral relations is 

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in the hands of our youth.

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Japanese and Russian defence and security agencies held a two-plus-two 

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format meeting in late 2018 and maintain contacts in various areas,

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contributing to deepening trust between our countries 

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on security matters. I commend this trend.

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In addition to this, Japan and Russia have been committed to stepping 

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up cooperation on non-conventional and global threats such as combating 

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drug trafficking, cyber attacks, money laundering, etc.

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President Putin and I welcome the progress made on the peace treaty,

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which is in line with the commitment we expressed in November 2018 

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in Singapore to accelerate negotiations for a peace treaty based 

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on the 1956 joint declaration, to coordinate our positions 

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and continue talks on these matters.

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Furthermore, in keeping with what we declared following our meeting 

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in Nagato, today we reaffirmed our sincere commitment to resolving 

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problems related to the peace treaty and agreed to welcome preparations 

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for undertaking joint economic activity in the four northern islands.

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Japan and Russia will jointly release a document to this effect.

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As for joint economic activity on the four northern islands,

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we have noted proactive efforts to implement these projects.

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Today, President Putin and I approved business models for two projects: 

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one on tourism and the other on waste management.

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We also agreed on arranging a pilot tourist trip and carrying out 

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a pilot project on mutual visits by Japanese and Russian 

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experts in waste management.

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We also welcome efforts to further the discussion on the conditions 

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and legal framework for the movement of people as part 

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of this joint economic activity.

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Bilateral cooperation has been successful in the sphere of humanitarian 

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measures that are intended to benefit current and former 

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residents of the islands.

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President Putin and I agreed to arrange visits to burial 

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sites by plane in August or September.

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Talks on the peace treaty have been underway since we reached 

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an agreement to this effect at the November bilateral summit that took 

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place in Singapore last year.

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Today, President Putin and I had a frank discussion on various matters,

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including on ways to further promote the negotiating 

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process and its prospects.

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Overcoming differences on complex matters that have lingered 

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for the last 70 years since the war ended is not an easy task.

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However, an outline of the matters that we have to address 

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is becoming increasingly clear.

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President Putin and I understand like no one else the strategic 

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importance of strengthening Japanese-Russian relations,

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and the critical role of the peace treaty in these efforts.

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We must be resolute in the steps we take,

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understanding that only the strong will of President Putin and myself 

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can push this momentum forward.

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President Putin and I reaffirmed this vision today.

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I strongly believe that together with President Putin we will continue 

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to move forward in this direction one step at a time in order 

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to further develop ties between our countries.

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Thank you for your attention.

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Mr Prime Minister, ladies and gentlemen,

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First of all, dear Shinzo, allow me to congratulate you once again 

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on the success of the G20 Summit you have hosted.

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I would like to thank you for inviting me to make this visit to Japan 

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at a time that coincided with this major international event.

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As you know, we have already attended together the closing ceremony 

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of the Year of Russia in Japan and the Year of Japan in Russia.

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Ahead of us, we still have the expanded-format talks that will be 

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attended by those heads of our ministries and agencies that are 

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proactively involved in Russia-Japan cooperation.

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Let me note that the Prime Minister of Japan and I have been able 

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to review the main items on the bilateral agenda in considerable 

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detail. We also exchanged views on topical international and regional 

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problems. The joint documents that have just been signed are designed 

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to expand cooperation in various areas.

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For Russia, Japan is an important partner with whom we are seeking 

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to build mutually beneficial relations as good neighbours and by taking 

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into consideration each other’s interests.

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Our countries have established close political dialogue.

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One month ago, the heads of our respective foreign and defence 

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ministries had a two-plus-two format meeting.

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There are regular consultations between our security 

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councils, as well as inter-parliamentary ties.

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There is also steady progress in our mutual trade,

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which increased by 17 percent last year and added another 7 percent 

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in the first four months of 2019.

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This shows that the Russian-Japanese Intergovernmental Commission has 

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been effective; the projects outlined as part of the eight-point 

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cooperation plan proposed by Mr Abe are being consistently implemented,

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as well as Russia’s strategy to expand trade and economic cooperation.

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Today, we adopted a joint statement dedicated to our future efforts 

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pertaining to these two essential documents.

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In particular, Russia’s national projects will benefit from Japanese 

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technology and investment.

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We see unwavering interest on behalf of Japanese businesses 

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in cooperating with Russia.

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Right now, some 270 Japanese companies are represented 

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on the Russian market.

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The Russia-Japan Investment Fund and investment platform 

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have built a positive track record.

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Business leaders and investors from Japan have proactively contributed 

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to the recent St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

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We will be glad to see Mr Abe and his Japanese colleagues 

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at the upcoming Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok in September.

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Energy is the main area of our bilateral cooperation.

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Japanese companies are involved in the Sakhalin 2 project.

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Our Japanese partners from Mitsui, Japan’s national oil,

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gas and metals corporation, have just signed an important agreement 

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to join the construction of the Arctic LNG 2 project that envisages 

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investment of almost three billion dollars.

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Rosatom continues its efforts to facilitate the Fukushima relief 

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effort. A number of initiatives are being explored to recycle spent 

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nuclear fuel, possibly with the involvement of third countries.

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We are expanding our ties in high tech spheres.

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An agreement has been reached whereby Canon of Japan will build 

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facilities in Russia in order to manufacture state-of-the-art medical 

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diagnostics equipment in our country.

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Another project on the agenda is the laying of a new high-speed data 

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cable linking Japan and Europe.

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In particular, it includes connecting Nakhodka and Niigata 

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by submarine cable.

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There is also momentum in transport and infrastructure cooperation.

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A series of pilot container shipments were carried out along 

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the Trans-Siberian Railway, showing that this is an economically viable 

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route for expanding deliveries of Japanese products to European markets.

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In 2020, Russia and Japan are to hold cross years 

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of inter-regional exchange.

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This initiative is expected to promote deeper contacts between regions,

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as Mr Prime Minister and I agreed today.

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Of course, Mr Abe and I discussed matters related to the peace treaty,

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and were both happy to see that our foreign ministers established 

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meaningful dialogue on a topic that is challenging 

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and sensitive for both countries.

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We expect this dialogue to carry on,

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and believe that a lot of effort will be required to take relations 

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between Russia and Japan to a new level.

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Whether or not we succeed in strengthening trust and neighbourly 

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relations between the peoples of Russia and Japan and create conditions 

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for finding mutually acceptable solutions for the most 

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complex issues will depend on these efforts.

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In this connection, it is noteworthy that we have succeeded in making 

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some progress in launching joint economic activity on the islands.

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We approved business models for two out of the five areas 

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identified by Mr Abe and myself.

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A number of pilot projects are to be carried out in the near future.

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When discussing urgent international problems we paid special attention 

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to developments surrounding the Korean Peninsula.

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I informed Mr Abe of the outcomes of the April 25 talks with Chairman 

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of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic 

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of Korea Kim Jong-un in Vladivostok.

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We proceed from the premise that the peninsula’s nuclear and missile 

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problems can be resolved only by peaceful political and diplomatic 

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means. What we need is a commitment to dialogue from all the countries 

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involved. This is the only way to ensure security and foster 

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development in Northeast Asia, a region that is home 

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to both Russia and Japan.

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To conclude, I would like once again to express my gratitude to Mr 

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Prime Minister and all our Japanese colleagues and friends for their 

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warm hospitality and our meaningful talks with them.

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Thank you for your attention.