UNITED NATIONS, Sept 12: Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Kozumi assured Pakistan on Wednesday that Japanese aid for Kohat Tunnel, Indus Highway and other projects would continue and that his country would keenly observe the upcoming general election in Pakistan.

Talking to journalists after talks with the leaders of Japan, Denmark and Bulgaria, President Pervez Musharraf said the bilateral meetings had been excellent.

He said a number of issues, including the tension between India and Pakistan and the October elections, had been discussed during the bilateral meetings.

The president described his country’s relations with Japan as “very good”, saying that he had also held useful talks with the leader of Denmark, a country that currently heads the European Union. He stated that Pakistan was willing for any number of international observers to come and view the elections.

Asked if Iraq was one of the questions he was going to raise when he met President Bush on Thursday, Gen Musharraf said: “Our plate is already full. We don’t want to cause it to overflow by taking more.”

Briefing journalists after the meetings, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Nations, Munir Akram, said Japan had made certain commitment to Pakistan.

“Additional funds are forthcoming,” he said, adding that his country’s team “came away from the talks with a very positive sense”.

Asked if Japan was going to resume the Yen loan suspended after the 1998 nuclear tests, Mr Akram avoided a direct answer but said that there was a general understanding of Pakistan’s needs to revive its economy.

He said the leaders of Japan, Denmark and Bulgaria, who had met President Musharraf at the General Assembly on Wednesday, understood Pakistan’s position on all major issues.