Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga talks with Joe Biden

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga spoke with new US President Joe Biden over the phone on Thursday, which was their first conversation since the American leader was inaugurated on January 20.

In the talks that lasted about 30 minutes, the two leaders affirmed the importance of Japan-US alliance and discussed the situation of North Korea as well as COVID-19 response and climate change, among other issues, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

During the conversation, Suga welcomed Biden's decisions to return to the 2015 Paris Agreement on curbing carbon emissions and not to withdraw from the World Health Organization, Xinhua news agency reported. The Ministry confirmed that Biden also invited the Prime Minister to take part in a summit on climate change slated for April 22. After the talks, Suga told reporters: "I would like to deepen my personal relationship with President Biden and work to strengthen the Japan-US alliance."

The Japanese leader also said that he hopes to visit the US as soon as possible amid the challenges of containing the COVID-19 pandemic.

The other foreign leaders Biden spoke to following his inauguration were the Prime Ministers of Canada and the UK, Justin Trudeau and Boris Johnson, respectively. (IANS)

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