Hagerty leads senators in visit to Japan, South Korea
Published 4:19 pm Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Photo Contributed/Hagerty and Senators meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Photo Contributed/Hagerty and Senators attend dinner hosted by ROK President Suk-yeol Yoon and First Lady Keon-hee Kim.
Photo Contributed/Hagerty speaks at Trilateral Economic Dialogue on a panel with ROK Foreign Minister Tae-yul Cho and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chairman Euisun Chung.
Photo Contributed/Hagerty-led delegation attends the high-level Trilateral Executive Dialogue in Seoul.
Photo Contributed/Hagerty leads delegation in Kantei en route to meet Japanese Prime Minister Kishida.
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WASHINGTON – United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, today recapped his 8-day official visit to Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) with six other senators during August recess to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and ROK President Suk-yeol Yoon, and to participate in the Second Annual Trilateral Executive Dialogue, a high-level summit that gathered top U.S., ROK and Japanese government and business leaders for strategic and economic talks. The Hagerty-led bipartisan congressional delegation included Senators John Thune (R-SD), Chris Coons (D-DE), Gary Peters (D-MI), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), and Katie Britt (R-AL).
“At a time when American leadership is needed in the Indo-Pacific and around the world, I was honored to lead my Senate colleagues on this official visit to recognize and thank Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Suk-yeol Yoon for their courageous and decisive leadership to strengthen their respective bilateral alliances with the United States and to raise our Trilateral Strategic Partnership to new heights,” said Senator Hagerty. “My colleagues and I were also pleased to attend the Second Annual Trilateral Executive Dialogue in Seoul to support President Yoon’s and Prime Minister Kishida’s bold and far-sighted leadership, and to demonstrate to the peoples of the United States, South Korea, and Japan the strategic and economic benefits of stronger trilateral relations. My firm belief is that deeper economic ties among our three nations will reinforce and strengthen our shared economic and national security interests. As a Senator and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, I know firsthand how critical our alliances with Japan – the world’s third largest economy and host to some 55,000 U.S. service members – and South Korea – the world’s 14th largest economy and host to nearly 29,000 U.S. troops – are to advancing the security and prosperity of the American people and to countering Communist China’s growing threats to the free and open Indo-Pacific.”
In Tokyo, the Hagerty-led Senate delegation met with Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida, Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoko Kamikawa, Minister of Defense Minoru Kihara, Minister of Trade, Economic and Industry Ken Saito, National Security Advisor Takeo Akiba, and leading Japanese lawmakers.
In Seoul, Hagerty and colleagues attended a dinner hosted by South Korea’s President Yoon and First Lady Keon-hee Kim, and met with Minister of National Defense and National Security Advisor Won-sik Shin, Minister of Foreign Affairs Tae-yul Cho, Minister of Trade, Industry and Economy Duk-geun Ahn, and top business leaders including Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chairman Euisun Chung, SK Chairman Tae-won Chey, Samsung Chairman Jay Y. Lee, LG Vice Chairman HC Shin, and Coupang Global CEO Harold HL Rogers.
