Top �� What's up around the Prime Minister �� May, 2004

Meeting with Ambassadors of Arabic Countries Friday, May 28, 2004 Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi invited ambassadors of Arabic countries in the Middle East and North Africa and held a meeting at the Prime Minister's Official Residence During the meeting, Prime Minister Koizumi commented on the transfer of sovereignty to Iraq scheduled at the end of June as "a great chance for the Iraqi people to build their country," and called for cooperation with the Arabic countries towards the reconstruction of Iraq. With regard to this, ambassadors of the participating countries expressed the opinions that for the reconstruction of Iraq, it is important to maintain the integrity of Iraqi territory, for the Iraqi people themselves to determine their own future and for the reconstruction to be advanced with the United Nations playing the central role.