インド太平洋構想で連携　茂木外相、パプアニューギニア首相と会談

　茂木敏充外相は２１日、訪問先のパプアニューギニアでマラペ首相と会談した。茂木氏は東・南シナ海で存在感を誇示する中国を念頭に「自由で開かれたインド太平洋」構想の重要性を訴え、連携についてマラぺ氏の賛同を得た。
　茂木氏はまた、新型コロナウイルスの世界的な感染拡大で打撃を受けたパプア経済の回復に向け支援していく方針を伝達。会談後、オンライン形式で記者会見し、「マラぺ首相と信頼関係を構築できた。対面外交の重要性を再確認した」と強調した。（2020/08/21-15:55）

Visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape agreed Friday to cooperate for a free and open Indo-Pacific region, in the face of China's increasing assertiveness in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.
   At their meeting in the southwestern Pacific nation, Motegi emphasized the significance of the free and open Indo-Pacific vision, and Marape expressed support for it.
   Motegi also indicated Japan's readiness to support Papua New Guinea's economy, battered by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
   At an online press conference following the meeting, the Japanese minister said he had developed trust with the Papua New Guinean leader through the meeting, adding that he had reconfirmed the importance of face-to-face diplomacy.