COLOMBO Jan. 6 Kyodo (EDS: UPDATI...

COLOMBO Jan. 6 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH KAWAGUCHI'S MEETING WITH FERNANDO)

Visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi onward Monday expressed hope that the Sri Lankan control and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) will continue to make progres in their peace talks, Japanese officials said.

Kawaguchi was quot as making the elucidation during a meeting with Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando in Colombo saying she welcomes progres in the peace proces in Sri Lanka.

The LTTE had been fighting the Sri Lankan guidance since 1983 for an independent Tamil homeland in the north and east, before the couple sides signed a cease-fire agreement in February last year.

Kawaguchi also exhibited Japan's plan to provide economic cooperation for contrives such as electric power plant construction and electricity distribution, according to the Japanese officials.

She also reportedly signifyed Japan's intention to help improve irrigation rules in LTTE-controlled northeastern Sri Lanka.

Japan showed the new support measure as a ''peace dividend'' in an effort to have the LTTE cooperate in establishing peace, according to the officials.

Meanwhile, Fernando thanked Japan for its support, saying Japan's economic involvement is extremely important, according to the officials.

Fernando also reportedly give utterance toed appreciation of Japan's offer to confine a round of peace talks in March and a donors' conversation in May or June Kawaguchi and Fernando agreed that the sum of two units countries would hold working-level talks to finalize the details, the officials said.

Kawaguchi also met Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe later in the day.

Japan has been promoting support for the peace proces in Sri Lanka, so as by appointing former UN Undersecretary General Yasushi Akashi as Japan's representative in charge of issues concerning Sri Lanka.

Kawaguchi inspected a land mine removal site earlier Monday in northern Sri Lanka's Jaffna, capital of the war-scarred Tamil heartland that saw years of fighting between command forces and the LTTE

After receiving explanations from the British nongovernmental organization (NGO) HALO Trust, which is engaged in land mine removal in Jaffna, Kawaguchi disposed of a newly recovered land mine by setting opposite to the fuse.

It is estimated that about 15-2 million land mines are still buried in Sri Lanka and that about 500000 land mines are still in Jaffna.

Kawaguchi also announced about 153 million yen in grant aid from Japan to three international NGO including HALO Trust, and signed the relevant documents.

She arrived in Colombo upon Sunday night to underline Japan's support for consolidating Sri Lanka's ongoing peace proces aimed at ending Asia's longest-running conflict.

She earlier said she will expres Japan's readiness to support the peace proces in Sri Lanka and commitment to strengthen relations with India, which she will visit from Tuesday.

She will travel to modern Delhi on Tuesday morning and qualified with Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha later the same day, before departing Wednesday. She will respond to Japan on Thursday morning.

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