First Meeting of the Advisory Council on International Cooperation

March 5, 2007

The first meeting of the Advisory Council on International Cooperation was held on March 5 (Mon) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tokyo (Southern Medium-International Conference Room).
This Council is aimed at reflecting in policies the voices of those who have expertise on international cooperation and promoting strategic and effective international cooperation, by having discussions and making proposals on the basic policy of international cooperation from a wide perspective, in response to the request of the Minister for Foreign Affairs for their advice.
The Council was attended by representatives from various fields (academia, journalism, industry and NGO) in Japan who have professional knowledge and experience of international cooperation, as regular members. Other experts may also participate in future meetings as non-regular members according to the theme of each meeting as needed.
At the first meeting, the members exchanged views on the procedure of future meetings and issues to be discussed, based on the Foreign Minister's basic statement of opinion on the issues of international cooperation.

(END)