Talks between Mr. Keitaro Sato, Special Envoy for UN Reform and Ambassador in Charge of Peace Building in Africa, and H.E. Mr. Ahmad Bin Abdullah Al-Mahmoud, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar

February 3, 2009

On February 3 (Tue), Mr. Keitaro Sato, Special Envoy for UN Reform and Ambassador in Charge of Peacebuilding in Africa, met with H.E. Mr. Ahmad Bin Abdullah Al-Mahmoud, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, who is taking the initiative in the Darfur peace process. The meeting began at 10:00 a.m.(local time) and lasted about one hour.
At the outset, Ambassador Sato briefed H.E. Mr. Al-Mahmoud on Japan’s efforts on the Darfur issues and expressed Japan’s support for Qatar’s peace initiative. In response, H.E. Mr. Al-Mahmoud detailed the past development, the present status, and the future schedule of the Qatar Initiative and welcomed Japan’s participation in the Initiative. H.E. Mr. Al-Mahmoud also expressed his concern about the influence on the peace process if the International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Mr. Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir, President of the Republic of the Sudan.
Ambassador Sato and H.E. Mr. Al-Mahmoud shared the view that they will cooperate in promoting the Darfur peace process to remove the difficulties faced by the people in the region.

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