Japan-Togo Foreign Ministerial Meeting

February 24, 2009

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　On February 24 (Fri), Mr. Hirofumi Nakasone, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, had a ministerial meeting with H.E. Mr. Koffi Esaw, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of the Republic of Togo. It started at 11:30 a.m. and lasted about 25 minutes. The summary of the meeting is as follows.

At the outset, Mr. Nakasone welcomed Mr. Esaw’s first visit to Japan and also the consolidation of democracy in the Republic of Togo, which overcame political turmoil that had lasted about 15 years. Mr. Nakasone also expressed his expectation that democracy would be further promoted in the country, particularly through the presidential election scheduled for 2010. In response, Mr. Esaw, referring to Togo’s efforts for national reconciliation, consolidation of democracy, and prudent fiscal policies, expressed the determination to implement the 2010 presidential election in a peaceful and transparent manner. He also expressed his hope that this visit would create an opportunity to strengthen the bilateral relation between Japan and Togo and lead to the success of the visit to Japan by the President Faure Gnassingbe scheduled for spring in 2009.
Mr. Nakasone assured Mr. Esaw that Japan would faithfully implement its commitments announced last year at the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) and G8, which includes doubling its Official Development Assistance (ODA). With respect to Japan’s economic assistance for Togo, Mr. Nakasone stated that, while taking into account Togo’s political stability and absorbing capacity for development assistance, Japan intended to give consideration to assistance for improving basic livelihood of Togolese people. Mr. Nakasone also expressed his expectation that Togo would participate in the TICAD Ministerial Follow-up Meeting to be held in Botswana on March 21 and 22. Mr. Esaw, in response, expressed his gratitude for Japan’s cooperation and asked Japan for further assistance to the reconstruction of Togolese economy; for instance, infrastructure and training in agriculture.
Concerning cooperation between Togo and Japan in the international arena, Mr. Esaw mentioned that Togo had been supporting Japan’s position in the United Nations, and that Togo was in favor of Japan’s permanent membership of the UN Security Council. In his response, Mr. Nakasone expressed his gratitude for the support from Togo as well as his hope that Japan would strengthen the cooperation with Togo toward the early realization of the Security Council Reform.

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