Meeting Between the Foreign Ministers of Japan and Madagascar
(Summary and Evaluation)
June 2000
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
On June 7 Mr. Yohei Kono, Minister for Foreign Affairs, held a meeting with Ms. Lila Ratsifandrihamanana, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Madagascar.
1. Summary
Ms. Ratsifandrihamanana expressed, on behalf of Madagascar, her condolences at the passing-away of former Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi. Mentioning that because fate had dictated that she should see Mr. Obuchi at the Second African Development Conference two year ago, and Mr. Obuchi had been an advocate of relations between Japan and Africa, she stated that she had been dispatched to express condolences.
Mr. Kono responded by thanking Ms. Ratsifandrihamanana for attending the funeral from so far away and stating that there had traditionally been friendly relations between Japan and Madagascar and that Japan would continue to expend as much effort as possible for the sake of Madagascar's development.
In response to this, Ms. Ratsifandrihamanana expressed her thanks for the assistance that Japan had extended in numerous fields and deep gratitude for the emergency aid provided by Japan to alleviate the cyclone damage suffered in March.
2. Evaluation
There have traditionally been friendly relations between Japan and Madagascar, but in view of the fact that the relationship has been widely separated geographically, there has been little dialogue between governments at a high level. However, Madagascar is an important country in regard to the strengthening of relations with the Indian Ocean region and with African countries, and in spite of its short duration this meeting between the foreign ministers was of great significance.
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