Japan-French Republic Summit Meeting
(Summary)
June 9, 2004
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi held a summit meeting with President Jacques Chirac of the French Republic during his visit to Sea Island, Georgia in order to attend the G8 Sea Island Summit. The meeting was held at Mackay House in Sea Island from 18:15 to 19:00 on June 8, 2004 (7:15 to 8:00 on June 9, Japan time). The following is a summary of the meeting. (Other attendees from the Japanese side: Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiken Sugiura; from the French side: Diplomatic Adviser of the President Maurice Gourdault-Montagne)
1. Bilateral Relations
(1) President Chirac stated that Japan and France maintain tremendously good relations in a wide range of areas including economy, culture and politics and indicated his eagerness to further develop such relations.
(2) Prime Minister Koizumi stated that he was looking forward to welcoming President Chirac to Japan at the earliest date possible, to which President Chirac responded that he would like to visit Japan in the near future.
2. Iraq
(1) Both leaders agreed on the significance and importance of the unanimous adoption of the United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution. The leaders concurred in principle that it is important that the Iraqi people are able to palpably feel that change has occurred, and that the international community cooperates in order to advance the political process. They agreed to continue mutual cooperation.
(2) On the unanimous adoption of the UN Security resolution, President Chirac, while praising the efforts of the United States and the choice of the members of the Iraqi Interim Government by the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General Lakhdar Brahimi, noted that various issues remained such as confrontation between Shia and Sunni Muslims, and that such issues would cause not inconsiderable difficulty for the Iraqi Interim Government. President Chirac emphasized the necessity for the international community to provide support for the efforts by the Iraqi people in order that they may overcome these difficulties.
3. North Korea
(1) Prime Minister Koizumi provided the following account of his recent visit to North Korea.
(a) Japan's position on North Korea remains unchanged, and aiming for the complete dismantlement of nuclear programs, Japan will coordinate through the Six-Party Talks and also continue to call on China.
(b) The normalization of relations between Japan and North Korea depends on a comprehensive resolution of all issues, including the nuclear and abduction issues.
(c) On the visit to North Korea, Prime Minister Koizumi had impressed upon Chairman Kim Jong-Il of the National Defense Commission of North Korea the merits of complete dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear programs accompanied by international verification, to which Chairman Kim had stated that while denuclearization was the ultimate goal, he had emphasized unease concerning US policy and that North Korea was eager to engage in discussions with the US through the Six-Party Talks. Prime Minister Koizumi also explained that Chairman Kim had stated that the proposed freezing of nuclear programs would be followed by verification.
President Chirac stated that the results of Prime Minister Koizumi's visit to North Korea were significant not only for Japan, but for the entire world, and that the prime minister's initiative was highly evaluated not only by France, but by the whole of Europe. President Chirac offered his congratulations on the return to Japan of the five children of the abductees and stated that France entirely supports Japan's efforts and position towards a comprehensive resolution of the issues on North Korea and would provide its cooperation as much as possible in this respect.
4. ITER
(1) President Chirac asked for Japan's understanding on the position of France with regard to the ITER.
(2) In response, Prime Minister Koizumi reiterated the position and stance of Japan, stating the expectation that progress could be made towards a final decision among the countries involved.
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