HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Japan and Britain agreed Thursday to cooperate on a broad list of issues, including defense, clean energy, cybersecurity and semiconductors.
The agreement was announced as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida held talks ahead of the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
Both sides said the agreement will strengthen their cooperation in economic, technological and defense sectors.
The agreement envisages „a partnership for semiconductors” to improve supply chains for these critical components for automobiles, military technology and many other modern day-to-day products.
The deal, the British government wrote in a statement, sets out „new commitments to increase cooperation in research and development, skills transfer, strengthening our domestic sectors and strengthening supply chains in an increasingly competitive market”.
Hours earlier, Japanese companies had pledged to invest 17.7 billion pounds ($22 billion) in clean energy projects, Sunak said. They include offshore wind, carbon and hydrogen reduction projects and others to boost clean energy.
Britain is trying to build closer trade ties with Japan and other Asian countries after leaving the European Union. As part of that effort, it has formally applied to join a regional bloc called the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
More than half of Japan’s pledged investment will come from trading giant Marubeni Corporation and will go towards wind farms and hydrogen projects in Scotland and Wales.
Japan and Britain agreed to „ensure diverse, resilient and sustainable mineral supply chains necessary for clean energy technologies,” Japan’s trade ministry said in a statement.