Top �� What's up around the Prime Minister �� April, 2003

The Second Meeting of the Emergency Measures Headquarters for the Situation in Iraq Monday, April 21, 2003 The Second Meeting of the Emergency Measures Headquarters for the Situation in Iraq was held at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. Given that the armed conflict in Iraq is drawing to a close and that a situation has now arisen whereby the international community must immediately play a concrete role in providing humanitarian and reconstruction assistance in Iraq, Japan's assistance for the reconstruction of Iraq was discussed besides other issues in the meeting. At the meeting, a policy was confirmed to actively engage in assistance for the reconstruction of Iraq through international coordination and in cooperation with non-government organizations (NGOs) and other private initiatives, and measures were decided upon in order to swiftly implement humanitarian and reconstruction assistance. Chairing the meeting, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said that it was of great importance for our country and international communities to recover and strengthen peace and stability of Iraq and its surrounding region through international coordination, and it was necessary for our country to serve as government one and tackle the humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to Iraq positively.