Top > What's up around the Prime Minister > September, 2006

6th Asia-Europe Summit Meeting (ASEM6) Sunday, September 10 to Monday, September 11, 2006 JAPANESE

Click photographs to enlarge

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi attended the sixth Asia-Europe Summit Meeting (ASEM6) held in Helsinki, the capital of the Republic of Finland, for the two days of September 10 and 11. On the morning of September 10 (Japan time: evening of the same day), prior to the opening of ASEM6, Prime Minister Koizumi held talks with the leaders of the 13 participant countries from Asia. Taking this opportunity, Prime Minister Koizumi exchanged greetings with the leaders of various countries, including Mr. Roh Moo Hyun, the President of the Republic of Korea, and Mr. Wen Jiabao, the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. During the talks, Prime Minister Koizumi suggested that Asian leaders discuss with European leaders an agenda that included North Korean issues and the Middle East situation. In the afternoon (Japan time: night of the same day), Prime Minister Koizumi attended the opening ceremony of ASEM6 which commemorated the tenth anniversary of the meeting. After a photo session with the participating leaders of the 38 countries and one organization, the leaders attended the first day's session of the ASEM meeting, which was focused on strengthening multilateralism and security. After the session, Prime Minister Koizumi held a meeting with Mr. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Spain. On September 11, Prime Minister Koizumi held talks with Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung, the Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. Prime Minister Koizumi thereafter attended the second day's session of the ASEM meeting, which focused on issues including the promotion of dialogue among cultures and civilizations and energy issues. The participants offered a silent prayer to all of the victims of the series of terrorist attacks in the United States that occurred five years ago on this day. The participants then adopted the Chairman's Statement which urges North Korea to return immediately to the Six-Party Talks on the country's nuclear issues. After this adoption the ASEM6 meeting drew to a close. At a press conference after the meeting, Prime Minister Koizumi said, "At the meeting, we were able to exchange opinions openly on numerous issues such as various challenges faced by Asia and Europe, especially those concerning measures against terrorism, weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and how to prevent these two issues of terrorism and WMD from worsening. Our agenda also included issues related to infectious diseases, North Korea, and the Middle East. Furthermore, we discussed the environment, economic development, and ways to balance the two. I would like to express my respect to the excellent performance by Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen as the Chairman, who made this meeting a success." Having completed all of the scheduled meetings and activities, Prime Minister Koizumi left Finland for Japan. Related link: Press Conference by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Following the Sixth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM 6) View Video (Available only in Japanese) Real(Narrowband) / Real(Broadband) Windows Media(Narrowband) / Windows Media(Broadband)