Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown agreed on Thursday to strengthen cooperation on fighting global warming, local media reported.
During a telephone conversation, which was proposed by Brown, Abe talked about the reduction of green house gas emissions, which will be one of the main topics at next year's G8 summit in Japan. He asked for help from the British government on building a post-Kyoto Protocol framework to govern gas emissions of all industries from 2013.
Brown expressed his willingness to help prepare for the summit which is to be held in Hokkaido and make it a success, Japanese officials were quoted as saying.
The new British leader extended his support to Japan's efforts to resolve the issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's past abduction of Japanese nationals, Kyodo News said.
The two leaders also exchanged views on issues such as assistance to Africa and international cooperation on counter-terrorism.
While vowing to strengthen bilateral relations, they also agreed to further build personal ties.
