Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Minister Louise Mushikiwabo has expressed hope that Japan will balance its efforts to rebuild from the March 11 quake and tsunami and keep supporting the world’s needy.
According to Japanese news agency Kyodo, the minister, who was visiting Japan for a two-day international meeting on poverty reduction, said in a recent interview she appreciates Tokyo hosting the conference as scheduled, despite the catastrophe.
“I applaud Japan for making sure that some of its important commitments are maintained,” Mushikiwabo said.
“That does not take away from the necessity for Japan to pay close attention to investing into this reconstruction,” she said. “But in this global world, it is also to the benefit of Japan, as a country that is quite well-positioned globally, to keep its commitments.”
Rwanda respects Japan’s decision to cut its official development assistance by around 10 percent for fiscal 2011 from the initial plan to raise funds for recovery efforts from the March calamity, Mushikiwabo said, adding, “I have no doubt that this reconstruction is going to cost money, and it’s quite normal that the Japanese people want to rebuild their own nation.”
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