Welcome Dinner for H.E. Mr. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, President of the Republic of Togo, Hosted by Mr. Takeaki Matsumoto, Minister for Foreign Affairs
June 9, 2011
Japanese
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Today (Thursday, June 9), Mr. Takeaki Matsumoto, Minister for Foreign Affairs, hosted a dinner (approximately 80 minutes) at Iikura House, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to welcome H.E. Mr. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, President of the Republic of Togo, and Mr. Elliott Ohin, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Republic of Togo, who are currently visiting Japan. An outline of the meeting is as follows.
- Before the dinner, Minister Matsumoto and Minister Ohin signed an Exchange of Notes concerning debt relief (approximately 9.6 billion yen) for the Republic of Togo.
- An outline of the exchange during the dinner after the event is as follows.
(1) Minister Matsumoto expressed his gratitude for the warm expression of sympathy and encouragement from the Republic of Togo, including 200,000 US dollars in cash donations, on the occasion of the Great East Japan Earthquake, and stated that there would be no change in Japan's intent to continue to play a proactive role for maintaining peace and stability in the international community, and that Japan was determined to overcome the disaster and faithfully fulfil the international commitments that it had previously announced, including the "Kan Commitment" aimed at achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
He also conveyed Japan's desire to continue to actively promote cooperation aimed at economic growth and the reduction of poverty in the Republic of Togo, with an emphasis on education and areas addressing the basic needs of daily life, such as water and sanitation.
(2) In response, President Gnassingbe offered his condolences for the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and expressed his high regard and gratitude for Japan's assistance for the Republic of Togo, including the debt relief measures signed today, as well as for Japan's assistance to Africa as a whole, through the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) process.
(3) Minister Matsumoto and President Gnassingbe also shared the view that they will to continue to cooperate closely on a wide range of issues, including United Nations Security Council reform and climate change.
[Note] Debt Relief for the Republic of Togo
The debt relief conducted by Japan on this occasion entails a cancellation of debt through the renunciation of claims under loan aids, based on the Köln Debt Initiative (1999, the Cologne summit), which stated that countries that satisfied the necessary conditions under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) Initiative would receive comprehensive debt relief. The total amount of debt being cancelled on this occasion is approximately 9,631.24 million yen.
- (* This is a provisional translation. The above date denotes the date of the issue of the original press release in Japanese.)
Related Information(Great East Japan Earthquake)
Related Information(Japan-Togo Relations)
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