Meeting between Minister for Foreign Affairs IWAYA and Minister SASSOU N’GUESSO of the Republic of Congo

On August 22, commencing at 10:00 a.m. for approximately 15 minutes, Mr. IWAYA Takeshi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a meeting with H.E. Mr. Denis Christel SASSOU N’GUESSO, Minister of International Cooperation and Promotion of Public-Private Partnership of the Republic of Congo, who is visiting Japan to participate in the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9). The overview of the meeting is as follows:

1. At the outset, Minister IWAYA stated his desire to further develop bilateral relations with the Republic of Congo, a country blessed with abundant natural resources such as crude oil and possessing significant economic potential. In response, Minister Sassou N’Guesso highly appreciated Japan’s efforts in TICAD to date and expressed his desire to further strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation in the international arena.
2. Minister IWAYA mentioned that Japan decided on providing food assistance as well as dispatching experts in rice cultivation and fisheries to ensure food security in the Republic of Congo, and stated his desire to continue cooperating to resolve development challenges in the Republic of Congo. In response, Minister Sassou N’Guesso expressed his gratitude for Japan’s past support and his expectation of further investment by Japanese companies.
3. In addition, the two ministers exchanged views and concurred in closely working together to respond to various regional and international challenges, including their policies toward North Korea including on the nuclear and missile issues and the abductions issue, as well as the United Nations Security Council reform.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.