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

Prime Minister Koizumi Meets with Prime Minister Kasyanov of Russian Federation Tuesday, December 16, 2003 Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi held talks with Mr. Mikhail Mikhaylovich Kasyanov, Prime Minister of Russian Federation, at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. At the meeting, the two leaders made an overview of bilateral cooperation based on the Japan-Russia Action Plan, which was agreed upon between Prime Minister Koizumi and Mr. Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation, this January, and agreed to continue with their peace treaty negotiations while developing bilateral relations in every area, and to establish a Japan-Russia Trade and Investment Promotion Organization at an early time after April 2004. The leaders also confirmed their recognition that establishing an oil pipeline to the Pacific coast of Russia is essential from the perspective of development in East Siberia and the Far East regions. Furthermore, Prime Minister Koizumi requested for Russia's early ratification of the Kyoto Protocol on measures to prevent global warming and expressed Japan's support to Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Based on the results of the meeting, Prime Minister Koizumi and Prime Minister Kasyanov announced a joint statement including the aforementioned items.