Tokyo, Oct 2, 2020, SPA -- Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian agreed Thursday in Paris to strengthen cooperation in response to the global coronavirus pandemic and over maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region, Kyodo city the Japanese Foreign Ministry as saying. The ministers also confirmed close cooperation in monitoring activities at sea and agreed that their countries' positions over matters in the region are the same, according to the ministry. Japan and France, which has overseas territories in the Indian and Pacific oceans, have stepped up their security ties, conducting joint military exercises at sea and holding bilateral foreign and defense ministers' talks on a regular basis. --SPA 22:09 LOCAL TIME 19:09 GMT 0017 www.spa.gov.sa/w1422154