Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with Dr. Boni Yayi, President of the Republic of Benin, at the Prime Minister's Office, and exchanged opinions on the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V), Japan-Benin bilateral relations and international situation, and other matters.

In his address, the Prime Minister said,

"Africa in recent years has been a land full of dynamic energy. In TICAD V held in June, we would like to make progress through cooperation hand-in-hand with Africa, aiming for improvement of the quality of growth in Africa, and to realize the development and prosperity of both Japan and Africa."