Japan-Jordan Summit Meeting
(Summary)

June 10, 2004

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi held a meeting with His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan during his visit to Sea Island in the United States of America in order to attend the G8 Sea Island Summit. The summit meeting was held for approximately 30 minutes from 8:30 am (local time) on June 9. The following is a summary of the meeting.

1.Bilateral Relations

(1) Prime Minister Koizumi expressed his appreciation for the role played by Jordan in resolving the recent hostage incidents in Iraq, including its cooperation with the local task force headed by Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Ichiro Aisawa.
Given the current situation in Iraq, Prime Minister Koizumi further expressed his appreciation for Jordan's cooperation in various fields with Japan including assistance to Iraq, and stated his wish for further cooperation as year 2004 marks the 50th anniversary since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Jordan.

(2) King Abdullah expressed his intention to continue and further develop cooperation with Japan, mentioning Japan's highly evaluated role in the Middle East, especially its assistance to Iraq.
King Abdullah gave his high appraisal to Japan's cooperation for Jordan thus far. Currently, numerous cooperation between the two countries in the areas of education, health, assistance to the Palestinians, International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq and others are being discussed and implemented. Jordan is advancing reforms so as to become a model in the Middle East and King Abdullah considered the next few years as a vital period for Jordan, therefore, he requested Japan to continue its cooperation. (Prime Minister Koizumi expressed his intention to consider further cooperation.)

2.Iraqi Issue

(1) Prime Minister Koizumi referred to and appraised the unanimous approval of the United Nations Security Council resolution on Iraq as a sign and proof of international cooperation. Prime Minister Koizumi also stated his expectation that the Iraqi people should appeal their willingness to reconstruct their nation by their own hands to the international community, and also, overcome confrontation among various religious groups. Prime Minister Koizumi further pointed out the need for the international community to continue its assistance to sustain a stable administration in Iraq, and that Japan intends to provide assistance in an appropriate manner.
Prime Minister Koizumi stated his wish to advance cooperation between Japan and the Arab countries in assistance to Iraq through further enhancing dialogue with Arab countries as part of Japan's policy as was stated at the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Habib ben Yahia of the Republic of Tunisia. In this context, he mentioned the importance of the cooperation based on friendly relations between Japan and Jordan.
Prime Minister Koizumi stated that, as Iraq still witnesses a severe security situation, the situation has not allowed Japanese government officials and civilians including private sector corporations to enter Iraq and directly provide cooperation and therefore, the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) are obliged to provide humanitarian reconstruction assistance in Iraq. He stated under such circumstances, it is most gratifying that the leaders of the Iraqi Interim Governing Council and religious groups which visited Japan from Iraq positively evaluated the efforts of the SDF. Prime Minister Koizumi then touched on the need for Japan to secure cooperation from other countries as the SDF can not participate in security maintenance duties.

(2) King Abdullah affirmed that Jordan, as a friend to Japan, will provide any possible cooperation to assist the SDF in carrying out their mission.
King Abdullah further stated that Jordan wishes to continue its cooperation with Japan on the Palestinian issue, and that Japan's neutral and fair stance in the region is widely recognized and highly appraised. He then requested Japan's cooperation in the area of political process towards advancement of the Roadmap. (Prime Minister Koizumi shared his intention to continue cooperation based on the Roadmap.)