Press Conference by the Press Secretary 8 June, 1999

1. Visit to Japan by President Henri Konan Bedié of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire to Japan from 28 June to 2 July
2. Agenda for the Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Cologne Group of Eight Summit
3. Prospect of participation of Japan in an international peacekeeping presence in Kosovo
4. Hostilities between the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan over Kashmir
5. Support of the Government of Japan for economic and political stability in the Republic of Indonesia
6. Meeting between Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura and Minister of Finance Michel Marto of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

1. Visit to Japan by President Henri Konan Bedié of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire to Japan from 28 June to 2 July

   Press Secretary Sadaaki Numata: Good afternoon. I have an announcement on the visit by President Henri Konan Bedié of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire. His Excellency Mr. Henri Konan Bedié and Madame Bedié will be visiting Japan from Monday, 28 June to Friday, 2 July. In the course of their stay, President Bedié and Madame Bedié will meet Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan and President Bedié will have a meeting with Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi. We attach importance to this visit by President Bedié of Côte d'Ivoire in view of the fact that Côte d'Ivoire is one of the most politically stable countries in Africa. It has also been playing a central role in the African economy. In the 1960s and 1970s, it achieved a double-digit economic growth rate which earned the country the reputation as the miracle of Côte d'Ivoire. It has also been actively contributing to stability in the Western African region through its mediation efforts and offering good offices and so forth with respect to the conflicts in Western Africa, for example, in the Republic of Liberia or the Republic of Sierra Leone. We are gratified that President Bedié is visiting Japan this time in view of the friendly relations that we have enjoyed with Côte d'Ivoire since its independence in 1960. We feel that this is a very important high-level visit. There have not been very many high-level visits between our two countries. In 1993, Their Imperial Highnesses Prince and Princess Takamado visited Côte d'Ivoire. We do feel that this visit by President Bedié is a very important opportunity for Japan to further promote the relations of friendship and goodwill between our two countries.

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2. Agenda for the Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Cologne Group of Eight Summit

   Q: Could you tell us about Foreign Minister Koumura's activities at the G8 Meeting?

   Mr. Numata: Yes, the Group of Eight (G8) Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura is departing for Bonn today to take part in the G8 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, that is in the context of the Cologne G8 Summit Meeting. He is departing this evening and will be taking part in the Meeting tomorrow, Wednesday, and the day after tomorrow, Thursday. There are a number of items which may be taken up in the G8 Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Kosovo may very well come up. There has been the G8 Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Kosovo taking place, but because of the short notice of the Meeting, Foreign Minister Koumura himself was unable to attend that and Ambassador of Japan Kunisada Kume to the Federal Republic of Germany has been attending that Meeting in the place of Foreign Minister Koumura. I understand that that G8 Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Kosovo is still continuing. When the foreign ministers meet again in the context of this other G8 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, they may very well be discussing Kosovo. But in the context of the Cologne G8 Summit, there are several items which the foreign ministers may be addressing, primarily political issues such as human security, prevention and resolution of conflicts, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and disarmament, and foreign policy aspects of globalization, and regional issues. It is in the context of the regional issues that Kosovo may come up. They may also be talking about the Republic of Indonesia where the elections have just taken place and they are in the process of tallying the votes, and possibly some Asian issues; the Korean Peninsula, the Union of Myanmar and so forth. Foreign Minister Koumura will be taking part actively in these discussions and in particular, if issues that relate to Asia come up, I expect that Foreign Minister Koumura will be taking part actively in the deliberations to have the Asian point of view reflected.

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3. Prospect of participation of Japan in an international peacekeeping presence in Kosovo

   Q: Is it possible for Japan to contribute to the peacekeeping force in Kosovo?

   Mr. Numata: I think it is a bit premature to talk about any possible modality in which Japan might participate in whatever kind of international security presence may be there in Kosovo. In fact it is not just international security personnel, but they are also talking about a civilian presence as well. All the specifics of that sort of presence are in the process of being discussed. The G8 Foreign Ministers' Meeting which has been meeting in Bonn has been discussing the possible text of a United Nations resolution, so I think we need to await the results of these deliberations before we can start thinking about what sort of role Japan might be able to play in it.

   Q: Is there any legal bar in Japan to sending Japanese military personnel to Kosovo?

   Mr. Numata: I do not know whether I should call it a legal bar, but as a general proposition, if you are asking about the factors that we take into account in dispatching our personnel under our International Peace Cooperation Law, the factors that we take into account are, for example, that such activities take place within the framework of our Constitution. Secondly, that such activities are supported by the general Japanese public and that these activities are appreciated by the international community. Thirdly, that we can be sure that we can provide an adequate support system for the dispatching of these personnel so that such dispatching can take place effectively and safely in accordance with the particular circumstances existing in the area concerned. And fourthly, that it is an area in which we can provide adequate activities. Those are the general elements that we take into account. Having said that, we also need to look at the situation on the ground, to see what exactly the needs are and then we have to try to figure out which part of the needs are best suited to Japan's scheme. A number of factors will have to be taken into account. So I think in the first instance, we will be very keenly watching what sort of a resolution will come out of the Security Council of the United Nations.

4. Hostilities between the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan over Kashmir

   Q: Mr. Numata, do you recognize that there has been infiltration or incursion into the Indian-held side of Kashmir from the other side?

   Mr. Numata: We have been hearing reports about the origins of the most recent armed conflict between the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. There have been a number of reports, but taken together they seem to indicate that in the month of May, armed clashes took place near the Line of Control in Jammu-Kashmir, and further, that the Indian military started its aerial bombing on 26 May, reportedly for the purpose of driving out the intruders who are reported to have come in to that part from the Pakistani side of the Line. I can only base this on reports. I think what is more important is that we have been consistently urging both India and Pakistan to exercise self-restraint with respect to this conflict, and we did call on both sides to exercise self-restraint and to halt the hostilities as soon as possible. We continue to hope very strongly that the two countries will work very hard to resolve this conflict through dialogue and peaceful means in accordance with the spirit that was reflected in the result of the India-Pakistan Summit Meeting which took place in Lahore in February.

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5. Support of the Government of Japan for economic and political stability in the Republic of Indonesia

   Q: Mr. Numata, concerning the Indonesian elections, I know that Japan has welcomed the process of the elections as being held in a democratic manner. Is Japan intending to give a hand to Indonesia after the elections to rebuild the country and help it achieve economic and political stability?

   Mr. Numata: Yes. My short answer is yes, because Indonesia has been one of the countries to which we have been giving quite a substantial amount of Official Development Assistance (ODA). We have had a very close relationship with Indonesia. There have been many contacts with the Indonesian leadership, including after the political change in that country last year. We do have a keen interest in Indonesia's political and economic stability and that is why we have a very keen interest in this general election that has taken place. We have dispatched a group of election observers to Indonesia. There are 20 of them who have been in Indonesia observing the elections since 3 June and yesterday they were separated into several groups and they observed the voting processes in Jakarta, Medan and Ujung Pandung. According to the reports that we have received from these election observers, and these are tentative reports, the voting yesterday seems to have taken place smoothly without any major confusion. We do hope that the actual process of counting the votes leading to the announcement of the result will also proceed smoothly. As I said at the outset, I do not think there is any change in our Government's consistent policy of helping Indonesia along the path to further political and economic development.

   Q: Regarding the statement by Mr. Obuchi yesterday, he said that Indonesia is a very important country for Japan. Could you specify the reasons for this importance?

   Mr. Numata: One of the reasons for Indonesia being important is, forgive me for saying this, I served there as well. Anyway, that is beside the point. But from my own experience of having served in Indonesia, Indonesia has been a major player in Southeast Asia. It has been very instrumental in the whole evolution of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It has also been instrumental in the non-aligned movement. It also has had a long standing friendship with Japan since its independence. There are many aspects of our economic relationship in the sense of our importing energy sources, including petroleum and natural gas. There are a number of Japanese businesses which have invested in Indonesia which have been very active. There are a number of Japanese nationals living there. According to the most recent data, there are 11,610 Japanese residents there and more than 2,600 Japanese short-term visitors to Indonesia. That is an indication of the closeness of our relationship.

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6. Meeting between Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura and Minister of Finance Michel Marto of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

   Q: I wonder if you had any information about yesterday's meeting between Mr. Koumura and the Finance Minister of Jordan.

   Mr. Numata: Minister of Finance Michel Marto of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan met Foreign Minister Koumura yesterday afternoon. As I understand it, it is a part of Finance Minister Marto's visit to the G7 countries concerning the problem of Jordan's debt burden. I understand that Finance Minister Marto came to Japan with a letter from His Majesty King Abdullah bin Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to Prime Minister Obuchi on that issue, that is asking Japan to take some measure to help alleviate the debt burden of Jordan. Finance Minister Marto explained to Foreign Minister Koumura the reasons for this request on the part of Jordan. Foreign Minister Koumura, for his part, told Finance Minister Marto that he was keenly aware of the political importance of Jordan in the context of the Middle Eastern peace efforts. He said that he also understood well the circumstances which make it necessary to alleviate Jordan's debt burden. He went on to say that there was an agreement reached in the Paris Club meeting which took place last month on debt rescheduling. He also said that the G7 countries are in the process of considering the ways to alleviate Jordan's debt burden, each in its own way, and we on our part, as a part of that effort, would like to consider some appropriate way in which to help alleviate Jordan's burden. That was the gist of the exchange.

   Q: So this appropriate way is expected in the future to be a debt reduction or cancellation?

   Mr. Numata: If you are asking me about the feasibility of debt reduction or cancellation in the Japanese context, there are some difficulties involved in debt reduction or cancellation as such. One of the reasons is that there has been a quite intensive discussion in the international community about the question of the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs) and that is in the context of debt cancellation. There are some criteria to determine which countries fall under the category of an HIPC. Jordan's economic performance is such that it will not be considered as an HIPC. Having said that, we have been actively participating in the debt rescheduling exercise in the context of the Paris Club, and when I say we will be considering in what appropriate manner we can help alleviate Jordan's debt burden, we will be looking at it more in the context of how we can help Jordan acquire the economic strength which will make it possible for Jordan to repay its debts. We will have to think very hard about this but that would be some way of helping reduce Jordan's debt burden. I am drawing a distinction between what you talk about in terms of debt cancellation and some other appropriate way in which we substantively help reduce Jordan's debt burden, but not through debt cancellation as such.

   Q: Do you have some numbers about the debt owed to Japan by Jordan?

   Mr. Numata: Jordan's public debt to Japan is approximately 210 billion yen. That accounts for about 25% of Jordan's external debt burden, which would be US$7.9 billion. Incidentally, Jordan's per capita GDP is more than $US 1,500. One of the criteria for the HIPCs up to now, and they are still in the process of discussion, is that the per capita income is below US$ 695.

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