Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit told Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka on Friday that his country will send a "high-level" mission to the Jan. 21-22 international conference in Tokyo on the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
The Turkish leader made the remark in response to Tanaka's request for Turkish representation at the ministerial conference, Japanese Foreign Ministry officials said. Japan will jointly host the conference with the United States, the European Union and Saudi Arabia.
Ecevit also told Tanaka that Turkey is prepared to play its role in liberating Afghan women who were oppressed under the Taliban's fundamentalist rule.
He made the comment after Tanaka proposed cooperation in the area of education as part of Afghanistan's reconstruction efforts.