Sharjah 24 – KUNA: Japan and the US on Friday confirmed that they will continue to unite and lead efforts to realise a "free and open Indo-Pacific," based on the achievements of the Japan-US summit and the Japan-US "2+2" security talks in January.

In a statement during their talks on the sidelines of foreign ministers' meeting of the Quad nations, which includes Japan, the US, Australia and India in New Delhi, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken affirmed that they will make use of cooperation among the Group of Seven (G-7) as well as the Quad countries.

Hayashi and Blinken also agreed to continue close coordination in addressing various issues related to China, Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

As one year has passed since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, the two ministers shared the view that their countries will impose strict sanctions against Russia and provide strong support to Ukraine while maintaining solidarity with the international community.

In addition, Hayashi and Blinken confirmed the importance of involvement in and support for the so-called Global South, and emphasized the importance of preventing third parties from providing military support to Russia, agreeing to continue close coordination between Japan and the US.

Furthermore, the two sides agreed to continue close coordination between Japan and the US toward the G-7 Hiroshima summit and G-7 foreign ministers' meeting later this year.