FOUR APPROACH TO THE AU. KOIZUMI REITERATED HIS GOVERNMENT'S DECISION TO DOUBLE JAPAN'S AID TO AFRICA OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS, IN LINE WITH THE ANNOUNCEMENT HE HAD MADE IN 2005 AT THE G-8 SUMMIT AT GLENEAGLES, SCOTLAND. JAPAN PROVIDED MORE THAN 10 BILLION DOLLARS FOR AFRICA THROUGH OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE (ODA) BETWEEN 1993 AND 2005, WHICH WOULD NOW BE DOUBLED TO 20 BILLION DOLLARS BY 2008. KOIZUMI WAS ON MONDAY SCHEDULED TO MEET AFRICAN UNION EXECUTIVES, INCLUDING ITS CHIEF ALPHA OUMAR KONARE, FOR TALKS. THE JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER, WHO ARRIVED IN ADDIS ABABA SATURDAY NIGHT, WAS TO CONCLUDE HIS FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT TO ETHIOPIA LATER MONDAY BEFORE DEPARTING FOR GHANA.
