Japan trade minister says Renault, Nissan must maintain stable alliance

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Japanese trade minister Hiroshige Seko on Friday urged Nissan Motor Co and Renault SA to maintain a stable alliance and expressed hope that executives from the automakers would take part in productive talks.

The Renault-Nissan alliance has been shaken by the arrest of the automakers' former chairman Carlos Ghosn on suspicion of financial misconduct. Ghosn, the architect of the alliance, resigned as Renault CEO and chairman this week.

"As I have been saying up till now, we think a stable Nissan-Renault alliance must continue. We hope the executives of the two companies can engage in fruitful discussions," Seko told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Asked whether he met French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire in Davos, he said they had met at a session but only exchanged greetings and did not hold any talks on the automakers' alliance.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chris Gallagher and Himani Sarkar)