TOKYO, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of Japan and 16 Pacific island nations and territories gathered on Friday in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, for the fourth Japan-Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Summit Meeting, which will feature discussions such as development, environment and counter-disaster measures.

    Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi presided over the summit with Michael Somare, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinean, chair state of the PIF.

    The Japanese government will announce at the summit its official development assistance of more than 40 billion yen (about 355 million U.S. dollars) to its Pacific friends for the next three years, Kyodo News reported.

    Koizumi said he is confident that the summit will lead Japan's cooperation with the Pacific island states into "a new cornerstone".

    Analysts believe that seeking support for its bid for the U.N. Security Council permanent membership is one of the decisive reason for Japan's showing of friendly gesture and substantial aid to the Pacific island nations.

    The summit will conclude on Saturday with a joint statement on the outcome of the leaders' discussions, reports said.

    An official statement released earlier by the Japanese government said that Japan intends to reinforce its ties with Pacific island nations and territories through the summit, which has been held every three years since 1997, to ensure stability and enhance prosperity in the region.

    In the 2003 summit, also held in Nago, Japan and the PIF members adopted the "Okinawa Initiative," a set of common strategies for regional development on security, environment, education, health and economic growth.

    Koizumi told the summit that Japan has worked hard for the goals set by the "Okinawa Initiative" and is looking forward to continuing cooperation with the PIF to such ends, Kyodo said.

    The 16 participating Pacific island nations and territories are the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, French Polynesia and New Caledonia. Enditem