JCP CC Chair Fuwa to visit Tunisia

Japanese Communist Party Central Committee Chair Fuwa Tetsuzo will take part in the Congress of Tunisia's Constitutional Democratic Rally Party scheduled for July 28 in Tunis. The CDRP is the north African country's governing party led by President Zine El Abidine BeN Ali.

The Japanese Communist Party has maintained friendly relations with the Tunisian embassy since Tunisia opened its Embassy in Tokyo in 1977. In October 2000, when Tunisian Foreign Minister Habib Ben Yahia visited Japan, Fuwa, JCP Executive Committee chair at the time, met with the minister and exchanged views on Middle East peace and other issues.

Fuwa recently received an invitation from the CDRP to lead a JCP delegation attending the CDRP Congress. The CDRP is the first governing party of an Islamic country to invite the JCP leader to its congress.
Tunisia is a non-aligned country and occupies an important position in the Arab Islamic world. The governing CDRP is affiliated with the Socialist International (SI) and maintains contacts with European SI member parties.

In announcing his Tunisia visit, JCP CC Chair Fuwa stated, "I hope that my Tunisia visit will help strengthen friendly relations between the JCP and the CDRP as well as the JCP's relations with Tunisia and the Islamic world. I am looking forward to meeting with many political leaders from Islamic countries as well as from Asian and European countries at the CDRP congress." (end)