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G8 foreign ministers meeting opens in Kyoto

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-06-26 20:02

KYOTO, Japan  -- Foreign ministers from the Group of Eight (G8) gathered Thursday in the ancient Japanese city of Kyoto in the run-up to the G8 summit scheduled for July 7-9 in Hakkaido.

On the agenda of the two-day meeting are such issues as Afghanistan's political stability and reconstruction, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and nuclear nonproliferation efforts in Iran.

The ministers are expected to issue a joint statement on the fulfillment of their pledged assistance for Afghanistan's reconstruction at the meeting.

Also invited to the gathering are representatives from the European Union (EU), including EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, EU External Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency.