(BRUSSELS) - The EU external relations commissioner on Thursday congratulated Japan's new foreign minister Hirofumi Nakasone on his appointment, expressing confidence that together they could help strengthen ties.

In a letter of congratulation, commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said she looked forward to meeting and working closely with Nakasone, a former minister and the son of one of Japan's best-known prime ministers Yasuhiro Nakasone.

"I look forward to working closely with you on many bilateral issues, including the implementation of the 2001 EU-Japan Action Plan, as well as matters of global importance and shared concern such as climate change and energy security," Ferrero-Waldner said.

The 10-year Action Plan was introduced to reinforce the EU-Japan partnership and move it on from consultation to joint action.

"I am confident that together we will be able to strengthen further the longstanding partnership between the Japan and the EU and hope we will soon have an opportunity to meet," said Ferrero-Waldner in her letter published in Brussels.

Nakasone was handed the foreign policy portfolio by Japan's flamboyant new Prime Minister Taro Aso, himself a former foreign minister, who took office on Wednesday.

The elder Nakasone led Japan during its economic boom and cultivated a close friendship with then US president Ronald Reagan, strengthening security ties between the two countries in a joint effort against the Soviet Union.

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