Environment Minister Yuriko Koike said Tuesday she will go to Kuwait on Saturday to discuss Japanese cooperation in dealing with pollution in the Persian Gulf and other environmental problems in the area.
Koike said she plans to meet Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Mohammad A. Al-Sarawi, the chairman and director general of the Environment Public Authority, and other government officials to talk about collaboration on resolving the region's environmental problems.
According to Environment Ministry officials, the Kuwaiti government is asking Japan to help research causes of the gulf's pollution and the damage to marine life.
During her stay in Kuwait through Sunday, Koike said she also plans to meet Air Self-Defense Force officials who have been dispatched there to prepare for the arrival of an ASDF unit that will participate in reconstruction efforts in Iraq.