Kishida, Luxon Affirm Information Security Pact

Tokyo, June 19 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his New Zealand counterpart, Christopher Luxon, on Wednesday confirmed that their countries have reached a substantive accord on an information security agreement, which will allow the sharing of classified information.

The two leaders, meeting in Tokyo, also agreed to step up discussions to launch talks on a bilateral acquisition and cross-servicing agreement to facilitate exchanges of supplies between Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the New Zealand military.

Kishida told a joint press conference with Luxon that he expects Japan and New Zealand to strengthen their security and defense ties.

Luxon said he hopes to work together with Japan to tackle serious issues in the region.

The two leaders recognized the importance of communicating with Australia and South Korea to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific.

They also agreed to cooperate over a summit of Pacific island countries that Japan will host next month.

Luxon issued a statement saying that New Zealand company Fabrum will provide Toyota Motor Corp. with its proprietary liquid hydrogen storage system.

In the statement, Luxon also said that Japanese construction company Obayashi Corp. will acquire a 50 pct stake in Eastland Generation for around 500 million New Zealand dollars to support the New Zealand company's renewable energy operations.

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