Yokohama to Host Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting in 2027

Tokyo, June 17 (Jiji Press)–The next session of the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting will be held in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, around summer next year, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Wednesday. At the gathering, the Japanese government aims to exchange views on major regional issues facing island countries, including maritime security and climate change. The island summit has been held every three years since 1997 at the initiative of the Japanese government, and the next session will be the 11th. China’s expanding maritime presence has been a major topic at recent meetings. Pacific island countries are becoming “increasingly important as a cornerstone of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Kihara said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]