The governments of Japan and South Korea are preparing to sign an agreement that will allow them to work together when evacuating their citizens from third countries during emergencies.
Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio is scheduled to visit South Korea and hold summit talks with President Yoon Suk-yeol. This will be a continuation of their “shuttle diplomacy.” The visit will begin on Friday.
Sources say the two leaders plan to sign a memorandum of understanding on a bilateral cooperation mechanism for emergencies in third countries.
This will be the first time that Japan will sign a memorandum regarding the evacuation of its citizens from third countries.
Joint evacuations have been carried out in the past. In those cases, the countries shared planes and vehicles.
Last year, Japan and South Korea cooperated when they evacuated their citizens from Sudan and the Middle East.
It appears that Tokyo wants to further improve bilateral relations by finalizing such an agreement.