Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development (CEAPAD); Welcome Reception and Meeting between Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Dr. Nabil el-Araby, Secretary General of the League of Arab States

February 13, 2013
Japanese

On Wednesday, February 13, from approximately 6 P.M., a welcome reception for the Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development (CEAPAD) hosted by Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs, was held at Mita Kaigisho in Tokyo. An overview of the reception is as follows:

At the beginning of the reception, Minister Kishida gave an address in which he said that it was no exaggeration to say that the peace and stability of the entire international community could not be realized without realizing peace in the Middle East, and that based on this recognition, the Government of Japan was aiming for a two-state solution and supporting efforts for peace and the establishment of a Palestinian state. Minister Kishida added that CEAPAD was an attempt to fuse the development experiences, expertise in international assistance and economic resources of East Asian countries in order to support the economic and social development of Palestine. He further stated that Japan would strengthen its support for Palestine through cooperation with East Asian countries.
Subsequently, Minister Kishida held a meeting with Dr. Nabil el-Araby, Secretary General of the League of Arab States, who visited Japan to attend CEAPAD, from 6:30 P.M. for approximately 15 minutes. Minister Kishida stated that the Government of Japan wanted to strengthen cooperation with the League of Arab States and that to that end, Japan wanted to continue arrangements for the 3rd Meeting of the Japan-Arab Economic Forum and launch of a new framework for strengthening cooperation in the fields of politics, culture, and education. In response, Secretary General el-Araby expressed his gratitude for Japan’s strong support for Arab states, including Japan’s support for the United Nations resolution granting non-member observer state status to Palestine. Secretary General el-Araby also stated that the holding of CEAPAD was very meaningful, and requested Japan’s continued support for Arab states.

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

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