Mr. Mikahil Efimovich Fradkov, Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, Pays Courtesy Call on Mr. Yohei Kono, Speaker of the House of Representatives

February 28, 2007

1. Mr. Mikhail Efimovich Fradkov, Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, who is currently in Japan as a Guest on official working visit, held talks with Mr. Yohei Kono, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Mr. Yoshiro Mori, former Prime Minister, on February 27 (Tue) from 17:05 to 17:50 at the Speaker's Official Residence.
2. The talks touched upon the familial and professional background of Mr. Kono and Mr. Mori whose fathers were deeply involved in Japan-Soviet exchanges, and who respectively as a former Foreign Minister and as a former Prime Minister had worked on the development of the Japan-Russia relationship. The importance of promoting closer cooperation in a wide range of fields between Japan and Russia was also pointed out. For that purpose, they discussed efforts to solve the Northern Territories issue, a pending issue between the two countries, as well as the exploration of new fields for cooperation such as cooperation for development in the Far East and Siberia, confidence building in businesses etc.