Tokyo: Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen Hassen agreed on Thursday to cooperate to ensure food security in Africa.

In their talks in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, Hayashi expressed concerns about the food crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The two ministers also exchanged views on the situations in Sudan, where armed clashes between its military and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group occurred, and in Niger, where a military coup took place.

Hayashi finished most of the events planned in his tour of six Asian and African countries Thursday.

In an online news conference, Hayashi said he agreed with foreign ministers and other officials of the six countries to “cooperate to maintain and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rule of law.”

JIJI Press