Asian, Latin American ministers start talks on climate, economy

TOKYO, Jan. 16 Kyodo -
Japan on Saturday presented an initiative aimed at enhancing cooperation with
East Asian and Latin American countries over the environment, including
disaster preparedness, as foreign ministers and officials from 34 countries
gathered in Tokyo for a meeting focused on efforts to address climate change
and other issues.
The situation in quake-hit Haiti also drew the attention of the foreign
ministers of the member states of the Forum for East Asia-Latin America
Cooperation, leading them to call for ''continued efforts to rescue the victims
and support the reconstruction'' of the impoverished Caribbean nation in a
statement issued the same day.
At the opening ceremony of the two-day meeting, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio
Hatoyama promised that Japan, based on its experiences as a country prone to
earthquakes, would ''offer its best possible cooperation'' for Haiti.
While noting the importance of cooperation between East Asia and Latin America,
which he said would be an engine of the world's growth, Hatoyama also touched
on climate change issues and said, ''There may be various opinions, but let's
work together toward a larger goal.''
During the meeting, Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada presented a set of
areas in which Japan hopes to work together with other FEALAC countries on the
environment, such as the protection of forests and the introduction of
renewable energy such as solar power, according to the Japanese Foreign
Ministry.
Japan has cooperated with such countries as Brazil on the monitoring of illegal
logging of tropical forest by providing images captured from Japan's
observation satellite, and hopes to expand the number of countries it
collaborates with in this way.
Japan would also like to invite senior officials and experts from FEALAC
countries for a high-level meeting aimed at presenting Japan's advanced
technology and which would offer an opportunity to develop environment business
in FEALAC countries.
To prepare for natural disasters, meanwhile, Japan will cooperate with FEALAC
countries for preparedness and reconstruction, according to what is named the
''FEALAC Regional Okada Green Initiative.''
As for areas other than the environment, Okada said during the meeting that
Japan would support small and medium enterprises in Latin America that are
affected by the global economic crisis and contribute to improving measures to
tackle infectious diseases.
The foreign ministers' meeting is expected to end Sunday with the issuing of a
''Tokyo Declaration'' affirming cooperation between the two regions in various
fields.
The participants will also discuss the future of FEALAC, which was established
in 1999 to promote mutual trust, political dialogue and friendly cooperation
among member states.
Mongolia is taking part in this year's FEALAC meeting for the first time,
joining 15 other Asian countries, including Japan, China and South Korea, and
18 countries in Latin America, among them Argentina, Brazil and Cuba.
It is the fourth meeting of FEALAC foreign ministers. Japan is hosting the
gathering for the first time.
==Kyodo