Press Conference 12 January 2001

1. Visit to Japan by Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the United Nations
2. Informal meeting on the launch of a new round of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
3. Questions on the visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono to the Gulf states
4. Question on the meeting on the new round of the WTO

1. Visit to Japan by Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the United Nations

   Deputy Press Secretary Chikahito Harada: Good afternoon gentlemen. Happy New Year and welcome to this year's first press conference. I have two announcements to start with.

   Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the United Nations accompanied by his spouse, Mrs. Nane Annan, will visit Japan from 22-25 January as a guest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

   During their stay in Japan, on 23 January, Secretary-General Annan and Mrs. Annan will meet with Their Majesties The Emperor and Empress of Japan. On the same day, Secretary-General Annan will have talks with Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kono, and other government officials, to exchange views on current issues involving the United Nations.

   The Government of Japan welcomes the forthcoming visit of Secretary-General Annan, which is expected to further strengthen the cooperative relationship between Japan and the United Nations.

   Related Information (Japan and the United Nations)
   
2. Informal meeting on the launch of a new round of the World Trade Organization (WTO)

   Mr. Harada: An informal meeting on the launch of a new round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) will be held on 24 January in Frankfurt, Germany. The meeting will be held on the initiative of Japan.

   Vice-ministerial-level officials of major members that play important roles in launching the new round will attend the informal meeting. The members to be represented include: Republic of South Africa, Arab Republic of Egypt, Federative Republic of Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Republic of India, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Kingdom of Thailand, Switzerland, and the Secretary of the WTO. Japan has been consulting with the United States of America and the European Union, at the same time Japan attaches importance to an exchange of views with these members.

   From Japan, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoshiji Nogami will attend and chair the meeting. Attendees will exchange views on various issues concerning the launch of the new round. The meeting is intended to help facilitate coordination among the WTO members.

   Related Information (WTO)
   
3. Questions on the visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono to the Gulf states

   Q: Do you have any updates about the results of Mr. Kono's trip to the Gulf countries?

   Mr. Harada: Foreign Minister Kono visited the State of Qatar from 8-10 January before moving to the United Arab Emirates. Foreign Minister Kono is currently in Dubai. Later today Foreign Minister Kono will travel to the State of Kuwait, and then tomorrow, he will move to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia before going on to Europe.

   In Qatar, Foreign Minister Kono met Amir Hamad bin Khalfa Al Thani and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Abdullah Al-Mahmoud of the State of Qatar.

   In the United Arab Emirates, Foreign Minister Kono met with Deputy Prime Minister Sultan bin Zayed Al Nuhayyan and Minister of Information and Culture Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nuhayyan of the United Arab Emirates.

   In Qatar, Foreign Minister Kono made a policy speech entitled, "Toward multi-layered relations with the Gulf countries." I will just give you the gist of the speech.

   Starting with the basic recognition that the relationship between the Gulf countries and Japan has witnessed great developments, mainly in the economic field centering on the import and export of oil, Foreign Minister Kono expressed that Japan intends at the turn of the century to establish multi-layered relations on top of the relations based on the trade in oil. Foreign Minister Kono explained his ideas to achieve proactive cooperation in concrete forms in three areas: promotion of dialogues among civilizations with the world of Islam, water resources development, and the promotion of a wide range of policy dialogues in addition to the present cooperation efforts.

   At the meetings that I referred to earlier, Foreign Minister Kono explained Japan's future policy direction towards the Gulf countries, which is reflected in his policy speech, and exchanged views based on that.

   Overall, I can say that the leaders of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates welcomed Foreign Minister Kono's policy speech and agreed to move forward in the direction that Foreign Minister Kono suggested. They responded to Foreign Minister Kono's ideas positively.

   Q: Did they discuss the situation in the Middle East?

   Mr. Harada: Yes. In Qatar they exchanged views on the Middle East peace process; Foreign Minister Kono explained what Japan has been doing for the Middle East peace process, and also what we did as the Chair of the G8 last year, and listened to the assessment of Qatar on the Middle East peace process. Both sides recognized that it is important to see the continuation of the Middle East peace process, and to support the process. That was the main thrust of discussion on the Middle East peace process.

   Q: Do you have any details about Mr. Kono's next meetings in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia?

   Mr. Harada: I can share with you the names of the officials that Foreign Minister Kono will meet. Tomorrow, Foreign Minister Kono will meet with Amir Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah of the State of Kuwait and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sulaiman Majid Saleh Al-Shaheen. Foreign Minister Kono also has a meeting scheduled for tomorrow with Minister of Foreign Affairs Saud Al-Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

   Related Information (Foreign Minister Yohei Kono's Visit to Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, and Russia)
   
4. Question on the agenda of the meeting for the new round of the WTO

   Q: On this meeting on the new round of the WTO, are they going to discuss China's entrance as a WTO member?

   Mr. Harada: The main agenda is as I told you to discuss how they can help facilitate the coordination among the WTO members for the early launch of a new round of the WTO. So China's accession to the WTO is not the main theme. I am not sure whether they will touch upon this issue or not.

   Related Information (WTO)