Friday, January 05, 2007
Japan foreign minister bows out of Asean to visit Eastern Europe (6:50 p.m.)
TOKYO -- Foreign Minister Taro Aso will bow out of the rescheduled Asean conference in the Philippines next week and instead visit several Eastern European countries, the Foreign Ministry announced Friday.
Aso's trip will take in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and the Slovak Republic from January 9 to 15, the ministry said in a statement.
He will be the first Japanese foreign minister to visit Romania and Bulgaria in 24 years and the first to the Slovak Republic since that country's independence in 1993.
Aso's trip overlaps with a European tour by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who heads to Britain, France, Germany, and Belgium from January 9 to 13 before stopping in the Philippines for the Asia regional summit.
The annual conference hosted by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations was originally scheduled for December 11 to 13 in the central city of Cebu, but the Philippine government, citing an approaching typhoon, abruptly rescheduled the event.
Representing Aso at the summit will be Senior Vice Foreign Minister Katsuhito Asano, the ministry said Friday.
Ministry spokesman Masaru Yamamoto said Asano was chosen for the talks because he had already participated at ministerial level conferences held last month and because Aso would be focused on visiting new member countries of the European Union. (AP) |
