Meeting between Mr. Masahiko Koumura, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, Special Advisor to U.N. Secretary-General

October 26, 2007

On October 26 (Fri), Mr. Masahiko Koumura, Minister for Foreign Affairs, met with Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, Special Advisor to U.N. Secretary-General, to exchange views on the Myanmar issue, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from 17:45 for about half an hour.
Prof. Gambari recounted his visits to other Asian countries, and stated that his visit to Japan had been meaningful. He also expressed his condolences on the death of the Japanese journalist. Mr. Koumura expressed his appreciation and full support towards Prof. Gambari’s good offices efforts. Mr. Koumura also said that Myanmar needed to be democratized through dialogue.
Prof. Gambari stated that it was important to guide Myanmar in the right direction and expressed his wish to further the cooperation between Japan and the U.N. He also mentioned that it was necessary for such neighboring countries as ASEAN members, China, and India to urge Myanmar to improve the situation in this regard. Foreign Minister Koumura stated that he urged Mr. U Nyan Win, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar to improve the situation in this regard during their meeting at the United Nations, and that Japan will support Prof. Gambari’s efforts and continue to work on this issue.

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