Visit to the Republic of Cuba by Former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto
(Outline and Evaluation)
9 October 2001
1. Schedule
Thursday 4 October (the following times are local time in Cuba) |
11:40 | Arrival in Havana |
| 13:00 | First meeting with H.E. President of Cuba Fidel Castro | |
Friday 5 October |
09:00 | Exchange of Notes Signing Ceremony for the Gran Teatro de la Habana |
| 10:00 | Meeting with Vice-President of the Council of the State, Carlos Lage Davila | |
| 11:15 | Meeting with Minister of Foreign Relations, Felipe Ramón Pérez Roque | |
| 16:00 | Meeting with Minister of Foreign Trade Ricardo Cabrisas | |
| 18:00 | Dinner hosted by President of the National Assembly of People's Power Ricardo Alarcon Quesada | |
| 20:30 | Performance by the National Ballet of Cuba at the Gran Teatro de la Habana | |
Saturday 6 October |
11:00 | Second Meeting with H.E. President Castro |
| 24:30 | Departure from Havana |
2. Outline
(1) Meeting with President Castro
- Former Prime Minister Hashimoto held talks with President Castro immediately upon his arrival in Cuba on 4 October for two and a half hours, and on 6 October for about six hours.
- In the talks on 4 October, former Prime Minister Hashimoto conveyed his gratitude to President Castro concerning the special consideration given by the Government of Cuba on the occasion of the Peru incident (December 1996 to April 1997) (Cuba declared its readiness to accept the guerilla members).
In the talks on 6 October, in-depth discussions that covered a very broad range of subjects took place, including the simultaneous terrorist attacks in the United States of America, Cuba-United States relations and environmental issues. President Castro expressed a great interest in the current circumstances of the Japanese economy and in the situation in Asia.
(2) Meetings with Other High-Level Officials
- Meetings were held with Vice-President of the Council of the State Lage, Minister of Foreign Relations Perez, and Minister of Foreign Trade Cabrisas, in addition to a dinner hosted by President of the National Assembly of People's Power Alarcon. Views were exchanged on a variety of subjects, including the simultaneous terrorist attacks in the United States, Japan-Cuba bilateral relations, environmental issues in Havana Bay, and the development of tourism in Cuba.
(3) Substantial Schedule
- During the visit, former Prime Minister Hashimoto undertook a substantial schedule, including the signing ceremony for a cultural grant for the supply of sound equipment to the Gran Teatro de la Habana, conclusion ceremony of two contracts for grant aid for grassroots projects, and exchange with Cubans of Japanese descent.
3. Major Results
(1) Conveyance of Message of Gratitude Concerning the Incident at the Official Residence of the Japanese Ambassador to the Republic of Peru
The fact that former Prime Minister Hashimoto, who was the serving Prime Minister at the time of the incident in Peru, had come to Cuba himself and expressed his gratitude personally to President Castro, was highly evaluated by both the President himself and other high-level officials. The more than eight hours of talks that took place between former Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Castro made a great contribution to further building up relations of trust between the two countries.
(2) Strengthening of Friendly Japan-Cuba Relations
The visit by Mr. Hashimoto, who has previously served as Prime Minister of Japan, gave further momentum to the growing trend of close relations between the two countries, as represented in recent years by a number of significant visits by high-level officials from both sides.
Through a broad exchange of views with President Castro and high-level officials of the Government of Cuba, Former Prime Minister Hashimoto could convey to the Cuban side Japan's position on the international situation. In addition, the visit allowed Japan to make clear its stance regarding the recent simultaneous terrorist attacks in the United States, and to renew the understanding of the stance being taken by Cuba regarding this issue.
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