Japan has agreed to host a ministerial meeting of more than 22 countries scheduled for January next year on the reconstruction of postwar Afghanistan, a senior Japanese official announced Washington Tuesday.
"The Japanese government has agreed to host a ministerial-level meeting in the latter half of January next year," Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Shotaro Oshima said.
Oshima made the announcement after senior officials from 21 countries and the European Union ended a closed-door meeting on the reconstruction of Afghanistan at the US State Department.
The ministerial meeting will follow a series of expert level meetings in various venues in coming weeks.
US Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs Alan Larsen said that the Tokyo meeting will be a platform for various governments to make their commitments for Afghan reconstruction.
(People's Daily November 21, 2001)
