Strasbourg, 22/04/2008 (Agence Europe) - The main body of work at the 17th EU-Japan summit on Wednesday 23 April in Tokyo will be strengthening cooperation in areas of global challenges, such as the fight against climate change and attaining the Millennium development objectives. Less than a month away from a possible WTO ministerial meeting, European and Japanese leaders will also have an exchange of views on the multilateral trade negotiations in the Doha Round. With the global economy facing a triple shock (financial turbulence and a credit crunch, food price hikes and continued energy price inflation) global economic prospects will also be on the agenda. European leaders and their Japanese counterparts will tackle the questions of regional and international security, with particular regard to the East Asia/Pacific region, the Middle East, Afghanistan and Burma/Myanmar. The European delegation will be led by the acting president of the Council of the EU, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, European Commissioners Benita Ferrero-Waldner (external relations) and Peter Mandelson (trade), as well as Slovenian Minister for Industry Andrej Vizjak. Meeting host and head of the Japanese delegation is no other than the Japanese prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda. (E.H.)