Folk dancers welcoming Prime Minister Mori (January 12) Prime Minister Mori meeting with President Obasanjo of Nigeria (January 12) Nigerian President Obasanjo (left), Prime Minister Mori, and Mali President Konare posing before their talks (January 12)

Friday, January 12-Saturday, January 13, 2001

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori arrived in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the final African country on his tour, on January 12. Meeting with President Olusegun Obasanjo in his office, the Prime Minister commended the president's bold political and economic reform initiatives upon achieving a return to civilian control after an interval of 16 years. Talking later with both President Obasanjo and Republic of Mali President Alpha Oumar Konare, chairman of the Economic Community of West African States, the Prime Minister praised the constructive role ECOWAS is playing in economic integration and conflict prevention and resolution in West Africa.