（Press Release）
October 20, 2024
Ministry of Defense Japan
On October 19, 2024, commencing at 18:30 (local time) for approximately 45 minutes, Defense Minister Nakatani attended the Trilateral Defense Ministerial Meeting in Naples, Italy, with the Rt Hon John Healey MP, Secretary of State for Defence of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and H.E. Mr. Guido Crosetto, Minister of Defense of the Italian Republic. At this meeting, the three Ministers discussed the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), a trilateral collaboration to jointly develop the next-generation fighter aircraft.
At the outset, representatives of the GCAP industry partners reported to the three Ministers at the meeting that they have made substantial progress towards reaching an agreement on a proposed Joint Venture as a GIGO counterpart. The GIGO and the proposed Joint Venture are the two vital instruments to run the GCAP, and now that both their start-up are in sight, the three Ministers concurred on the acceleration of the preparatory work required to conclude the initial contract between the two entities by the end of next year.
Furthermore, the three Ministers confirmed the current preparation status for GIGO and concurred on the acceleration of the necessary preparation work to launch the organisation by the end of this year. Minister Nakatani also explained that Japan is preparing to send out the first Chief Executive of GIGO, in accordance with the previous trilateral consensus.
The three Ministers reconfirmed that the GCAP is an essential programme, indispensable for the peace and stability of Europe and the Indo-Pacific region, and reaffirmed to keep their close alignment to accelerate the programme which is at the core of the trilateral defense cooperation.