Visit to the Republic of Haiti by Mr. Katsuya Okada, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, to the Republic of Haiti

March 18, 2010
Japanese

Mr. Katsuya Okada, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, will visit the Republic of Haiti on March 20. This will be the first visit to Haiti as the Japanese Foreign Minister.
In Haiti, Minister Okada will visit severely damaged sites by the major earthquake in January. He is also scheduled to hold talks with H.E. Mr. Rene Garcia Preval, President of the Republic of Haiti; Mr. Jean-Max Bellerive, Prime Minister of the Republic of Haiti; and Mr. Edmond Mulet, Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and Head of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Minister Okada is also scheduled to visit the camp of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) unit deployed to MINUSTAH, observe their activities of the troops and encourage the contingent members. He will also meet with Japanese NGOs in Haiti.
This visit is expected to strengthen the traditionally favorable bilateral relations between Japan and Haiti even further. It is also expected that Japan will consider further what roles Japan will play in the area of aid to Haiti, including the Haiti Donors Conference to be held in New York at the end of March.

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