Ottawa and Tokyo concluded a bilateral Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement which will step up military cooperation between the two states, and allow them to use each other's military equipment in various operations, the Global Affairs department of the Canadian government said in a statement on Sunday. "The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Taro Kono, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, signed the bilateral Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA). This agreement will strengthen cooperation between the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and will allow both countries to make efficient use of each other's military equipment during operations and exercises in Canada, Japan and other locations," the statement read. The deal will also boost bilateral cooperation in peacekeeping activities, and tackling humanitarian crises and natural disasters, the document noted. The Japanese Foreign Ministry, in its turn, also said in a statement on Sunday that the reached deal set the framework for financial settlement between the parties in mutual deliveries of military equipment and services. The statement also noted that the two countries had agreed to further support each other in terms of security. The agreement was inked on the sidelines of the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Canada on Saturday.
