Top �� What's up around the Prime Minister �� March, 2002

Prime Minister Meets with President of Ecuador Friday, March 29, 2002 Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi met with President Gustavo Noboa Bejarano of the Republic of Ecuador at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. During the meeting, Prime Minister Koizumi praised the reform efforts being made by Ecuador and explained the structural reforms now underway in Japan. Furthermore, after affirming that the stability of Ecuador is important for the entire region of South America, the Prime Minister stated that, as the largest donor nation for Ecuador, Japan intends to continue to provide it with cooperation while giving thought to what kind of assistance Ecuador truly needs. In response, President Noboa expressed gratitude for the economic cooperation extended by Japan to Ecuador in the past. Furthermore, the President stated that Ecuador intended to deepen its relations with the nations of Asia and described the construction of a pipeline for heavy oil and the transportation route concept that will link the coasts of the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, traversing Brazil, Peru and Ecuador. In this context, the President expressed his hope for investment and other involvement by Japan. In closing, Prime Minister Koizumi expressed his expectations that this visit to Japan by President Noboa and the participation of the Ecuador national team in the 2002 World Cup soccer finals would lead to even closer bilateral relations between Japan and Ecuador.