Japan-Nigeria Foreign Ministers' Meeting

July 4, 2012
Japanese

(Photo)Japan-Nigeria Foreign Ministers' Meeting-2

On Wednesday, July 4, commencing at around 10:00 a.m. for about 20 minutes, Mr. Koichiro Gemba, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a meeting with H.E. Mr. Olugbenga Ashiru, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who was visiting Japan to attend the World Ministerial Conference on Disaster Reduction in Tohoku. An outline of the meeting is as follows:

Opening remarks
Minister Gemba expressed his gratitude for Minister Ashiru’s attendance at the World Ministerial Conference on Disaster Reduction in Tohoku, and for the donation Japan had received from Nigeria at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Minister Ashiru said he was privileged to be able to visit Japan.
Bilateral relations
Minister Gemba requested the attendance of Nigeria's President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, at the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V), which will be held in Yokohama in June next year, and in response, Minister Ashiru indicated a cooperative stance toward the TICAD process and, at the same time, expressed expectations for Minister Gemba’s visit to Nigeria.
Both Ministers confirmed their intention to advance bilateral relations in the field of trade and investment, which is one of the key agendas of the TICAD process, and shared the view that a Japan-Nigeria Special Partnership Forum will be held, possibly in the fall.
Cooperation in the international arena
Both Ministers shared the view that cooperation in the international arena is important, including Security Council reform.
Situation in the West Africa region
Minister Ashiru explained his perspective on the Mali situation and the Guinea-Bissau situation.

(*The foregoing is a provisional translation. The date indicated above denotes the date of issue of the original press release in Japanese.)

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