Wires

Japan pledges $12 mln over 3 years to 'Arab Spring' support fund

TOKYO, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Japan will contribute $12 millionover a three-year period to a World Bank fund supportingeconomies affected by the Arab Spring uprisings, FinanceMinister Koriki Jojima said on Friday.

"As part of efforts to support the Middle East and NorthAfrican economies, Japan has pledged $12 million over threeyears for the MENA Transition Fund," Jojima told reporters aftera meeting with finance ministers gathered in Tokyo forsemiannual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and theWorld Bank.

The MENA (Middle East/North Africa) Transition Fund wasestablished by the World Bank at the request of The DeauvillePartnership, which was launched last year after uprisings inTunisia, Egypt and Libya ended decades-long dictatorships andprotests prompted political reforms in countries such as Moroccoand Jordan.

(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Chris Gallagher)

((chris.gallagher@thomsonreuters.com)(81-3-6441-1842))

Keywords: JAPAN MIDEAST/AID