Meeting between Mr. Minoru Kiuchi, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Dahou Ould Kablia, Minister of Interior and Local Governments of Algeria

By Japan - Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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Meeting between Mr. Minoru Kiuchi, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Dahou Ould Kablia, Minister of Interior and Local Governments of Algeria

TOKYO, Japan, January 24, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- On January 22, Mr. Minoru Kiuchi, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, who was in Algeria, met with Mr. Dahou Ould Kablia, Minister of Interior and Local Governments of Algeria, from 11:50 P.M. (3:50 P.M. local time) concerning the hostage of Japanese nationals in Algeria. The overview of the meeting is as follows.


Regarding the taking of foreign nationals, including Japanese nationals, as hostages, Vice-Minister Kiuchi again stressed that acts of terrorism were absolutely unforgivable, that the recent incident was extremely despicable, and that it should be strongly condemned. He also stated that the incident was distressing for Japan as it had resulted in the loss of precious human lives despite every possible effort having been made, including the request by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Mr. Abdelmalek Sellal, Prime Minister of Algeria, to place the utmost priority on securing the safety of the hostages.

In addition, Vice-Minister Kiuchi requested cooperation from the Algerian Government on the following points.


(1) Confirmation of the well-being of the remaining three Japanese nationals.

(2) The return to Japan of the seven Japanese nationals confirmed to be safe and the transport of the remains of the seven Japanese nationals who perished, aboard the Japanese Government aircraft scheduled to arrive in Algeria in the morning of January 23 (local time).

(3) The collection of personal items.

(4) The provision of information on the full picture of the incident, particularly the situations in which the Japanese nationals perished.

(5) The securing of the safety of those connected to Japanese companies active in Algeria and all Japanese citizens present in the country.

In response, Minister Ould Kablia expressed condolences for the sacrifice of the Japanese nationals and explained the view of the Algerian Government about the response to the incident. He also stated that he wanted to provide as much support as possible related to the requests of Japan.