Tokyo Conference on Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan

1.The Government of Japan will host the Tokyo Conference on the Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka on June 9 (Mon) and 10 (Tue) in Tokyo (Akasaka Prince Hotel) with the participation of ministers and representatives from about 50 countries and 20 international organizations. 2.Major participants of the Conference include Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Junichiro Koizumi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, Ms. Yoriko Kawaguchi, Representative of the Government of Japan, Mr. Yasushi Akashi, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, and Deputy State Secretary of the U.S., Mr. Richard Armitage. 3.The Conference will be opened by the Prime Minister of Japan, followed by the statement of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. Japan, Norway, the United States, and the European Union will serve as the co-chairs of the Conference. At the Conference, the international community will demonstrate its strong and unified commitment and support to reconstruction and development of the entirety of Sri Lanka, including the war-torn North and East. The Conference will also confirm the importance of the inter-linkage between the implementation of the assistance to Sri Lanka by the international community and the progress of the peace process. 4. The holding of the Conference was agreed upon between Mr. Junichiro Koizumi and Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe when the latter visited Japan in December last year.