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What's up around the Prime Minister > May, 2005 |
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Japan-Slovakia Summit Meeting
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi held a meeting with Mr. Mikulas Dzurinda, the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. At the meeting, the two leaders discussed the tax reform in Slovakia, international issues and bilateral relations among other topics. Prime Minister Dzurinda shared with Prime Minister Koizumi the key to achieving a successful tax reform with regard to the introduction of a uniform tax rate of 19 percent in Slovakia. Prime Minister Koizumi expressed strong interest in the tax reform and asked about the reaction of the people and about the nature of the debates in Slovakia regarding the reform. Prime Minister Dzurinda commented that, "There were some debates during the process of adopting the new tax system, but the people accepted it in the end. The end result is that the adoption of a uniform tax system worked really well." Prime Minister Koizumi in turn said, "I wish to study this case in Slovakia as an example of a bold reform." As for international issues, Prime Minister Koizumi and Prime Minister Dzurinda agreed to cooperate in the international community as two countries sharing the same values on issues such as the United Nations (UN) Security Council reform, the issue of the lifting of the arms embargo on China by the European Union (EU), the issue of Iraq and others. Furthermore, with regard to their bilateral relations, the two leaders agreed to enhance their relations, including promotion of Japanese companies entering the market of Slovakia, which is a member state of the EU, and enhancement of exchanges in the tourism area.
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