On March 26, commencing from 4:10 p.m. for around 20 minutes, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe received a courtesy call from H.E. Mr. Kigbafori Guillaume SORO, President of National Assembly, Republic of Cote d'Ivoire, who is visiting Japan upon the invitation of Mr. Bunmei Ibuki, Speaker of the House of Representatives. The overview of the meeting is as follows.

1. At the start of the meeting, Prime Minister Abe welcomed President Soro to Japan, and expressed his admiration for efforts toward a return to peace and national reconciliation based on the democratic elections in Cote d'Ivoire. In addition, Prime Minister Abe also stated that he wanted to further strengthen friendly relations between Japan and Cote d'Ivoire, that Japanese businesses had interest in investing in the country, and that he wanted to request a bolstering of the environment for investment.
   
   
2. In response, President Soro presented a letter to Prime Minister Abe from Mr. Alassane Ouattara, President of Cote d'Ivoire, officially inviting the Prime Minister to his country. President Soro also expressed his gratitude for the great amount of support given by Japan to Cote d'Ivoire to organize the 2010 presidential election. In addition, he explained that Cote d'Ivoire realized high economic growth, and was working for the national reconciliation and the democratization while overcoming issues of peace and order. He added that he regards Japan as a good example as Japan is under reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake, and expressed expectations of support from Japan.
   
   
3. Prime Minister Abe said that he wanted to meet President Ouattara during the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) to be held in June. He raised the issue of the memorial ceremony held that day in relation to the terrorist incident in Algeria, and stated that Japan firmly condemned terrorism. He added that he wanted to continue cooperation with Cote d'Ivoire for the stability of the Sahel region.
   
   
4. President Soro replied that Cote d'Ivoire was vital to the eradication of terrorism in the Sahel region, and said that he hoped to continue to receive support for the stability and democratization of Cote d'Ivoire.