Japan and France on Tuesday reaffirmed their intention to cooperate in helping rebuild Iraq and agreed on the need to reform the United Nations, such as expanding the UN Security Council to include Japan as a permanent member. In a meeting between visiting French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi in Tokyo on Tuesday, the two sides agreed that they would work together to restore Iraq's cultural facilities such as museums and libraries, providing medical training and supporting Iraqi athletes aiming to take part in international competitions.
Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and de Villepin, while meeting at the premier's office emphasised the importance of international efforts and of the United Nations' involvement in the reconstruction of Iraq, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. Although the two countries' positions on the US-led war on Iraq differed, with Japan backing the invasion and France against it, they now share common ground on the need for the global community to help rebuild the country, it said. On bilateral ties, Kawaguchi and de Villepin decided to work on creating a new action plan aimed at reinforcing the "important bilateral relationship," the foreign ministry said.
After meeting with Kawaguchi, de Villepin emphasised at a press conference the importance for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to respond to international calls on its nuclear issue and Japan's demands to resolve the abduction issue. De Villepin, on his first trip to Japan since being appointed foreign minister in June 2002, also met earlier on Tuesday with Japan 's House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
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