LIBYA: President of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party inaugurates the Japanese-Libyan Friendship Association in Benghazi

Record ID: 465285

  • Title: LIBYA: President of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party inaugurates the Japanese-Libyan Friendship Association in Benghazi
  • Date: 5th August 2011
  • Summary: BENGHAZI, LIBYA (AUGUST 4, 2011) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF THE REBEL EXECUTIVE OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) REBEL FOREIGN MINISTER, ALI AL-ESSAWI, SAYING "Japan had tried many times to contact us through the International Contact Group. Japan is supporting the Libyan people in the current circumstances and this visit is to confirm this goodwill. This visit headed by the president of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party, which is one of the biggest opposition parties, is to pave the road for the Japanese government to recognise the National Council." AL-ESSAWI ENTERS HIS OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) THE HEAD OF THE JAPANESE LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, YURIKO KOIKE, SAYING "We discussed the means to reinforce the relations between Japan and new Libya in different fields such as technology, economy and education." MAIN GATE OF THE REBELS' EXECUTIVE OFFICE
  • Embargoed: 20th August 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Libya
  • Country: Libya
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA56JOC360TM3LHF691ZEX9R6H
  • Story Text: The president of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party, Yuriko Koike travelled to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi on Thursday (August 04) to meet rebel foreign minister, Ali al-Essawi.
    It was her first visit to the eastern city that is a rebel stronghold since the mid-February revolt began.
    "Japan had tried many times to contact us through the International Contact Group. Japan is supporting the Libyan people in the current circumstances and this visit is to confirm this goodwill. This visit headed by the president of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party, which is one of the biggest opposition parties, is to pave the road for the Japanese government to recognise the National Council," al-Essawi told reporters on Thursday.
    During her visit Koike inaugurated the Japanese-Libyan Friendship Association and said talks touched on economic and technological cooperation between the two countries.
    "We discussed the means to reinforce the relations between Japan and new Libya in different fields such as technology, economy and education," Koike told Reuters television.
    While there has been growing international recognition of the Benghazi-based rebel administration, the rebels are still struggling financially and their fighters are not as well-armed, trained or organised as Gaddafi's.
    On Thursday they secured a boost when NATO, which is enforcing an arms embargo on Libya, cleared the Cartagena, a tanker carrying enough fuel to fill nearly a million cars, to dock in Benghazi.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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