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Prime Minister Visits the Middle East (Jordan) Thursday, July 13 to Saturday, July 15, 2006 JAPANESE

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Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, having completed his itinerary for Palestine, arrived on the government plane in Aqaba, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, on the afternoon of July 13 (Japan time: night of the same day) as the last destination of his visit to the Middle East. Prime Minister Koizumi held talks with His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein at the King's detached palace, after which he was invited to a banquet hosted by His Majesty the King. On the morning of July 14 (Japan time: afternoon of the same day), Prime Minister Koizumi held talks with Mr. Marouf Al Bakhit, the Prime Minister of Jordan. During the talks, Prime Minister Koizumi announced a policy to promote grant aid to assist the economic development of Jordan, noting that the stability of the country is of high importance to the stability of the Middle East region. Prime Minister Koizumi also indicated his intention to raise issues of the Middle East at the upcoming G8 Summit in St. Petersburg and to explain the initiative of the four-party talk that was agreed to by Israel, Palestine, and Jordan, respectively. In the afternoon (Japan time: night of the same day), Prime Minister Koizumi visited the ruins of Petra, a World Heritage Site in Jordan. There in the desert, he observed a series of ruins which were carved from rock more than 2,000 years ago. On the morning of July 15 (Japan time: afternoon of the same day), Prime Minister Koizumi, having completed all of the scheduled meetings and activities for his visit to the Middle East, departed for Russia to participate in the G8 Summit.