Press Conference, 16 April 2009

Announcement of the Pakistan Donors' Conference and the Friends of a Democratic Pakistan Conference
Foreign Minister Nakasone to deliver policy speech on nuclear disarmament

I. Announcement of the Pakistan Donors' Conference and the Friends of a Democratic Pakistan Conference

Deputy Press Secretary Yasuhisa Kawamura: Good afternoon.
Today, I have two announcements. The first announcement is about the Pakistan Donors' Conference.

Tomorrow, Friday, the 17th, the Government of Japan will co-host, with the World Bank, the "Pakistan Donors' Conference" in Tokyo, back-to-back with the "Friends of Pakistan Conference" where Pakistan will chair on the same day.

The peace and stability of Pakistan is crucial for the international community. Under Pakistan's initiative, the Friends of a Democratic Pakistan will discuss Pakistan's mid-term strategy, while Pakistan will express its political commitment to implement economic reform and counter-terrorism. The participating governments will express their political support for efforts made by the Pakistani Government.

At the subsequent Pakistan Donors' Conference, governments and international organizations are expected to express their support to the Government of Pakistan. At the end of the conference, Japan and the World Bank will tally the pledges made by the participants and will issue a co-chair statement.

The participants of the Donors' Conference tomorrow will be Japan, Pakistan, the World Bank, and fourteen governments and organizations including the United States, United Kingdom, China, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, the United Nations, the UAE and the European Union. Also, Mr. Asif Ali Zardari, president of Pakistan and other ministers are expected to visit Japan for this occasion.

II. Foreign Minister Nakasone to deliver policy speech on nuclear disarmament

Second, and last, Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone will make a major policy speech on the 27th of April at the Japan Institute of International Affairs, or JIIA, in Tokyo about nuclear disarmament. The title of the speech is "Towards a World without Nuclear Weapons - Key Benchmarks for Global Nuclear Disarmament." This speech occasion will be open for press and you can refer to the homepage of the JIIA.

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