Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori to Visit South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Greece

December 19, 2000

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's visit to South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Greece from 7 (Sun) January to 15 (Mon) 2001 is now under consideration.
With these proposed visits to the three African countries, Prime Minister Mori will be the first Japanese Prime Minister to visit sub-Saharan Africa. Since this summer after talks with Mrs. Sadako Ogata, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, regarding issues including that of refugees in Africa, it was Prime Minister Mori's desire to visit African countries at the earliest possible time. Furthermore, following a series of talks with leaders of African countries as this year's G8 chair, it was Prime Minister Mori's belief that the world in the 21st century would never achieve stability and prosperity without tackling the problems of Africa. It is very significant that Japan's first summit-level diplomacy in the 21st century starts with Prime Minister Mori's visits to African countries to further develop talks with their leaders.
Prime Minister Mori will also visit Greece. This will mark the first visit to Greece by a Japanese Prime Minister. Japan and Greece, which celebrated their 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations last year, share sentiments to strengthen their friendship. Prime Minister Mori's visit to Greece will be of great significance in further enhancing relations between Japan and Greece.

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