JCP international chief meets with Qatar ambassador

Japanese Communist Party International Bureau Director and House of Councilors member Ogata Yasuo on March 3 visited the Embassy of Qatar in Tokyo to tell Ambassador Reyad Ali Ahmed Al-Ansari about the atmosphere of the 13th Non-aligned Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, late February.

Ogata said that at an unofficial meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) held on the next day of the Non-aligned Summit closure, he met Eissa Al-Kuwari, Qatari Domestic and Foreign Affairs Committee chair, whom Ogata met when he visited Qatar last October.

Al-Ansari said that in the Arab League Summit on March 2, leaders of Arab countries adopted a communique in opposition to a war on Iraq, and emphasized the need to solve the problem peacefully.

The ambassador showed his appreciation to the JCP for paying great attention on the Islamic community and expressed his hope to keep in touch with the JCP.

Ogata also visited the Malaysian Embassy in Tokyo on the same day to meet Minister Ibrahim Abdullah to relate his impressions of the 13th Non-aligned Summit.

Ogata said that Malaysian initiatives to revitalize the non-aligned movement are significant and that he was impressed by the speech of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad at the Summit. (end)