Courtesy Call on Mr. Takeaki Matsumoto, Minister for Foreign Affairs, by Filippo Grandi, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), and Meeting between Mr. Yutaka Banno, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and the Commissioner-General

August 25, 2011
Japanese

(Photo) (Photo)

On Thursday, August 25, Foreign Minister Matsumoto received a courtesy call from Mr. Filippo Grandi, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The courtesy call was followed by a meeting with State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Yutaka Banno.

Commissioner-General Grandi explained a severe situation faced by Palestinian refugees, expressed his gratitude for Japan’s contribution to UNRWA, and sought continuous cooperation from Japan.
Foreign Minister Matsumoto said that the Government of Japan has been paying close attention to the recent situation in Palestine and the surrounding region with great concern, that it hoped to closely cooperate with UNRWA, and that it would continue to make efforts to support UNRWA despite Japan’s severe financial constraint.
Commissioner-General Grandi presented the pictures the children in Palestinian refugee camps drew to express their attachment to Japan, thinking of children in Japan which was hit by a major disaster. Foreign Minister Matsumoto expressed his gratitude and respect for UNRWA’s activities, which enable the children living in a difficult situation to draw such heart-warming pictures.

(*This is a provisional translation. The above date denotes the date of the issue of the original press release in Japanese.)

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