Appointment of "Ambassador for ASEAN"

October 20, 2008

On October 17 (Fri), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs appointed Mr. Yoshinori Katori, former ambassador to Israel, as "Ambassador for ASEAN."
The ASEAN Charter, which was adopted and signed at the ASEAN Summit Meeting last year, stipulates that each ASEAN Member State shall appoint a Permanent Representative based in Jakarta and it is expected that decisions in ASEAN can be made through a consultation mechanism among the Permanent Representatives. It also stipulates that ASEAN Dialogue Partners, including Japan, may appoint Ambassadors for ASEAN.
Consistently attaching importance to ASEAN in its diplomacy, Japan intends to further strengthen Japan-ASEAN relations through this first appointment of the Ambassador for ASEAN.
Ambassador Katori, as a representative of Japan, is expected mainly to attend meetings between Japan and ASEAN and to exchange views with senior officials of the ASEAN Secretariat, ASEAN Permanent Representatives and others.

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