Okada leaves for quake-hit Haiti to discuss assistance measures

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TOKYO, March 19 Kyodo -
Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada left for Haiti on Friday to discuss
with local officials how to support the impoverished Caribbean country hit by a
devastating earthquake in January.
Okada will arrive in the capital Port-au-Prince on Saturday and is scheduled to
hold talks with Haitian President Rene Preval and a senior official of the U.N.
Stabilization Mission in Haiti, known as MINUSTAH.
Okada will also inspect activities of Japan's Self-Defense Forces who are
involved in the U.N. peacekeeping operations and return to Japan on Monday,
according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
''I don't want our support to have less significance (than it should have) as
we continue to offer various forms of assistance to the country,'' Okada said
prior to his departure. He is the first Japanese foreign minister to visit
Haiti, the ministry said.
Okada also said he is eager to attend an international donors' conference for
Haiti to be held in New York later this month. He added he hopes his visit to
Haiti will help deepen discussions at the conference.
==Kyodo
2010-03-19 23:05:14