For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 27, 2007

Fact Sheet: U.S.-Japan Cooperation to Tackle Global Trade, Energy, and Environmental Challenges

White House News

      President Bush and Prime Minister Abe Participate in a Joint Press Availability
      Welcoming Prime Minister Abe

Today, President Bush hosted Prime Minister Abe of Japan at Camp David. This is the first visit of Prime Minister Abe to the United States to meet with the President since the Prime Minister took office last fall.

In today’s meetings, the two leaders continued to build on the strong alliance between the United States and Japan, agreeing to work closely together to tackle critical global trade, energy, and environmental challenges.

The United States And Japan Are Working Together To Expand Trade Opportunities Worldwide

• Bilateral and Global Cooperation on Key Economic Issues: President Bush and Prime Minister Abe endorsed enhanced bilateral efforts to promote and protect intellectual property rights, strengthen energy security, make trade flows more secure and more efficient, and increase the transparency of government regulatory processes.
• WTO Doha Development Agenda Negotiations: President Bush and Prime Minister Abe reiterated their strong commitment to the Doha Round and agreed to demonstrate leadership to secure a successful outcome that will stimulate growth and development by creating new trade.
• Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation: The President and Prime Minister confirmed APEC’s role as a leading forum for shaping the future of the Asia-Pacific region and pledged their robust support for APEC’s efforts to accelerate trans-Pacific economic integration, including a possible Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific as a long-term prospect.
• Information Exchange on Free Trade Agreements with Third Countries: President Bush and Prime Minister Abe welcomed the progress being made by U.S. and Japanese officials in sharing information on each nation’s Free Trade Agreements and Economic Partnership Agreements with third countries.
• Strategic Development Alliance: President Bush and Prime Minister Abe pledged to work together in fostering democratic development worldwide.

The United States And Japan Are Working Together to Promote Economic Growth-Oriented Approaches to Energy Security, Clean Development, and Climate Change

• Climate Change: President Bush and Prime Minister Abe decided to cooperate closely on an integrated approach to economic growth, energy security, and climate change. They agreed that improving energy efficiency and advancing energy technologies are key solutions for confronting global climate change while ensuring continued economic growth. They also promised to continue to work together through the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate and the U.S.-Japan High-Level Consultations on Climate Change. In a Joint Statement, the two countries outlined the priorities for cooperation.

Joint Nuclear Energy Action Plan: President Bush and Prime Minister Abe welcomed the signing of a new action plan on nuclear energy cooperation that supports the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership and promotes the construction of new nuclear power plants at home and the peaceful use of civilian nuclear power in third countries, while strengthening nuclear non-proliferation, safety, and security.

# # #