Remarks by Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen Ahead of Trilateral Meeting with Minister of Finance Shun’ichi Suzuki of Japan and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Sangmok Choi of Korea

As Prepared for Delivery

I would like to thank Deputy Prime Minister Choi and Minister Suzuki for joining me in this trilateral finance ministers meeting, which is a significant milestone.

This is the first such meeting between our three ministries, and a key follow-up to our Leaders Summit at Camp David last August.

As Treasury Secretary, a key priority of mine has been to strengthen our relationships with allies and partners.

The United States deeply values our close partnerships with Japan and the Republic of Korea. Both countries are longstanding allies and friends to the United States.

And I see scope to further deepen our cooperation on key shared objectives in the region and globally, such as expanding resilient supply chains, countering economic coercion, and combating sanctions evasion.

I am glad to have been able to visit both of your countries as Treasury Secretary and that we now have this opportunity to gather in Washington to affirm the importance of our relationships and advance these objectives.

I look forward to thoughtful discussion today on critical issues for the American, Korean, Japanese, and global economies, as well as on support for Pacific Island countries, collaboration with international financial institutions, and securing prosperous and resilient growth at home and abroad.

Going forward, I am confident that the United States, the Republic of Korea, and Japan will continue to work together to meet the many challenges that lie ahead of us to secure economic growth and security in our three countries and across the Indo-Pacific region.

I would like to turn now to Minister Suzuki.

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