Ministerial Meeting on Peace Consolidation and Economic Development of the Western Balkans

February 12, 2004

Under the co-chairmanship of Japan and Ireland, which currently holds the EU Presidency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will host a "Ministerial Meeting on Peace Consolidation and Economic Development of the Western Balkans" on April 5 (Mon) in Tokyo.
Ministers in charge of foreign and economic affairs of the Western Balkan countries, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, will be invited to the Meeting. Representatives from other southeastern European countries, the EU member states, including newly acceding countries, the G8 countries, and international organizations such as the European Commission, Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe and others are also scheduled to attend.
The Meeting will discuss measures to ensure the consolidation of peace in the Western Balkans, an area which is still vulnerable while the region is heading toward stabilization after the end of a series of conflict in the former Yugoslavia, and to achieve sustainable economic development.

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