Countries & Regions

On June 2, for about 25 minutes from 4:00pm, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida had a meeting with H.E. Mr. Mohamed Bazoum, Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Cooperation, African Integration and Overseas Nigeriens of the Republic of Niger, in Yokohama Japan. The following is the gist of the meeting. Foreign Minister Bazoum is visiting Japan to participate in the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) held from June 1 to 3.

1. At the beginning of the meeting, Foreign Minister Kishida welcomed Minister Bazoum’s visit to Japan and expressed his hope for development both in Africa and Japan in the wake of TICAD V, which marks the 20th anniversary of the TICAD process.
2. In response, Minister Bazoum congratulated the success of TICAD V, and expressed his sincere gratitude for Japan’s long-term support for Niger. Minister Bazoum also mentioned that it has been only two years since the current administration had restored democracy in Niger, and expressed his strong expectations for increased support from Japan in various fields including education, agriculture and infrastructure, as well as for Japanese private investment. He also expressed his desire to open the Embassy of the Republic of Niger in Japan by next year.
3. Foreign Minister Kishida mentioned that Japan will strongly support toward peace and stability in the Sahel region including Niger. While denouncing the recent terrorism incident which occurred near the uranium mining facility, where Japanese companies are also recently operating, Foreign Minister Kishida stated that a decision was lately made to provide new assistance to strengthen counter-terrorism measures and capability of security enforcement in the Sahel area, and expressed his expectations that Niger will enhance the security measures through the utilization of these supports. Foreign Minister Kishida paid his respects to President Issoufou’s efforts toward national development, expressed his intention of Japan’s support for development programs in Niger and the 3N Initiative related to food security, and welcomed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in uranium resource development the other day.
4. The two parties also exchanged opinions on the cooperation in the international arena, including development in Africa.