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

Prime Minister Meets with Prime Minister of Malaysia Tuesday, May 21, 2002 Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi met with Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad of Malaysia at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. This was the first summit meeting held at the new Prime Minister's Official Residence. Prime Minister Koizumi stated that although Japan faces a difficult economic situation, he intended to steadily advance reform as the economic conditions improve in the future. In response, Prime Minister Mahathir stated that economic recovery of Japan is extremely important for Asia and world, and that he hoped to see Prime Minister Koizumi firmly advance his policies. Furthermore, the two leaders confirmed the achievements of the Look East Policy of Malaysia, which is marking the 20th anniversary since it was launched. The leaders held the common view that they would continue to advance such cooperation. In addition, Prime Minister Koizumi stated that education and human resource cultivation are the fundamentals of nation-building and expressed the intention of making the cooperative relations in these areas even closer. In response, Prime Minister Mahathir made a request for Japan's support in relation to the establishment of a university in Malaysia.