Top �� Speeches and Statements by Prime Minister

PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN AT THE APEC SUMMIT Bangkok 21 October 2003

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of the press. At the Leaders' Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum which was held this time in Bangkok, I am grateful for the very warm welcome and hospitality extended by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the Government and the people of the Kingdom of Thailand. I believe that I was able to have a very frank exchange of views with the leaders attending at the conference this time. Also, in the wings of these meetings, I also had various bilateral summits. First of all, I believe a major result we achieved was that we put together a message that we shall strive to expeditiously revitalize the new round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the interests of greater trade and investment liberalization and facilitation in the APEC region. The Ministerial Meeting in Cancun of the WTO failed to achieve the intended results. That, of course, was regrettable. We should build on the results achieved so far and the economies participating expressed their strong will that negotiations should be further pursued expeditiously. Japan shall continue its efforts also in the interest of a successful WTO Doha Round. The second result achieved was that we confirmed, on the basis of Japan's proposal, the leaders' determination to address structural reform in the economies of the APEC region in order to achieve economic growth in the APEC region. The third result was that we were able to evince the APEC leaders' understanding that the fight against terrorism will last for a long time and the cooperation amongst us will be very necessary. The APEC leaders evinced their determination to address, as APEC, the security challenges the APEC region faces such as terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. There are efforts that each economy should individually address and there are other challenges that the member economies should address in cooperation. We were able to confirm that we will work with each other and also that we will work with strong determination to prevent and root out terrorism. On North Korea, I pointed out in both the APEC meetings as well as in the bilateral meetings that I had repeatedly explained Japan's position. I was able to gain their understanding and cooperation I believe, especially with regard to the six-party talks that were held this past August. We are of the view that we should keep up the six-party talk process and through the six-way talks we should continue to continue to work on the North Koreans in various ways. As far as Japan is concerned, the problem is not just nuclear. There is the abduction issue as well as missile issues. So we need to deal with North Korea comprehensively, encompassing all of these issues. That is the explanation that I made. The United States of America, the Republic of Korea, the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation, and needless to say, Japan, are all trying to figure out and are seriously working to resolve the North Korean issues in a peaceful and diplomatic manner. I believe they would be able to well understand the sincerity and the seriousness on our part. I visited North Korea last year, and when I met with Chairman Kim Jong-Il during that visit, I did discuss the fact that North Korea becoming a responsible member of the international community would be of the greatest benefit to North Korea. North Korea, I believe, has the greatest interest in its own security. I am aware of that. In the six-party talks, these countries including Japan that are involved in the six-way talks are really seriously seeking a peaceful and diplomatic solution to the problems concerned. That is the best way to ensure the security of North Korea. That is the point that North Korea should understand. In that respect, it is in the six-party talk framework that Japan also would like to continue to work on North Korea. Of course, there are certain things that Japan alone, on a bilateral basis, can deal with North Korea. With regard to dialogue with North Korea, I believe I was able to have the understanding as well as the cooperation of the APEC leaders. North Korea should well understand that all these countries are seriously seeking a peaceful and diplomatic resolution of the problems concerned. In the wings of the APEC meetings, I had bilateral meetings with President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation, President Hu Jintao of the People's Republic of China and President Roh Moo Hyun of the Republic of Korea. In the summit with President Putin, we welcomed the steady implementation of the Japan-Russia Action Plan and confirmed that we shall strive to further promote Japan-Russia relations in diverse areas, including promoting negotiations for a peace treaty. I believe that promoting broad relations between Japan and Russia should certainly be conducive to the conclusion of a peace treaty. We should like to really develop relations between Japan and Russia in various areas. Concerning the future of desirable Japan-Russia relations, we need to exchange views and we therefore agree agreed to establish a Japan-Russia Eminent Persons Conference. The Chairman on the Japan side will be former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori. The Russian side will soon appoint an appropriate person as the Russian Chair. In my meeting with President Hu Jintao of the People's Republic of China, we saw eye-to-eye that our bilateral relations will only grow in importance and so we should try to grow our bilateral relations with future orientation. We decided to establish a Japan-China Committee for New Friendship in the 21st Century. In response to my explanation regarding our position on North Korea, President Hu Jintao stated that he fully understands the feelings of the abduction victims and their families. China does have a significant influence over North Korea and in the six-way talks held in August, China played a major role. Appreciating those facts, I believe that Japan and China should continue to cooperate with each other in working on North Korea to make progress. In my meeting with President Roh Moo Hyun of the Republic of Korea, we confirmed that we shall launch negotiations for a Japan-Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and we also saw substantive agreement on a Social Security Agreement. This should be beneficial for businesspersons of Japan and the Republic of Korea as they engage in business activities in their respective countries. I believe this is a step forward towards even closer ties between Japan and the Republic of Korea. At the APEC Leaders' Meeting this time, Asia-Pacific leaders gathered together and there was cooperation amongst these economies. I felt very strongly that this conference was an important forum for the world's security as well as economic development. I felt that it was most meaningful that we were able to have very productive and constructive discussions. Once again, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, to the Government and the people of the Kingdom of Thailand for their very warm hospitality.