The top diplomats of Japan and Britain agreed Saturday to work quickly toward a bilateral trade deal that will be "at least as ambitious" as Japan's agreement with the European Union.

In their first meeting since the United Kingdom formally withdrew from the European Union on Jan. 31, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his British counterpart Dominic Raab also affirmed ongoing cooperation on security issues, arranging to hold "two-plus-two" talks involving their countries' defense chiefs at an early date.

"Preliminary discussions have begun in building a new bilateral economic partnership and I hope we will be able to start and conclude negotiations as early as possible," Motegi said in a joint press conference after the meeting in Tokyo.

Raab said the two discussed a deal that would be "at least as high standard, if not higher, and at least as ambitious" as the Japan-EU economic partnership agreement that entered into force in February last year.