Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and his Portuguese counterpart, Luis Montenegro, agreed Thursday to elevate relations between their two countries to a strategic partnership.
The two leaders, meeting at the Ishiba's office in Tokyo, also agreed to strengthen Japanese-Portuguese cooperation in various fields including economy and security.
Ishiba and Montenegro shared the recognition that the security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions is increasingly inseparable and confirmed their commitment to work together to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific.
"We shared the understanding that close cooperation is more important than ever," Ishiba said at a joint news conference, referring to relations between Japan and Portugal.
Montenegro voiced Portugal's desire to enhance relations with Japan.
