The Fourth Meeting of Japan-Arab Dialogue Forum

May 23, 2006

The Fourth Meeting of the Japan-Arab Dialogue Forum will be held on May 26 (Fri) and 27 (Sat) at Shin-Takanawa Prince Hotel.
The Forum was established as part of Japan's policy initiatives to strengthen dialogue between Japan and Arab countries when Mr. Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister of Japan visited the Middle East in May 2003. The Forum Meetings are participated by intellectuals in Japan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The Fourth Meeting will convene with representatives headed by Mr. Ryutaro Hashimoto, former Prime Minister from the Japanese side; Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Library of Alexandria, as the chairman, and other participants from the Egyptian side; and H.E. Eng. Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Al-Tuwaijry, Member of Majlis Ash-Shura, the head of the delegation, and others from the Saudi Arabian side.
At the Meeting, there will be exchanges of views on a wide range of issues such as (1) the political situations in Iraq, Palestine and other areas, (2) measures to promote investment and trade, and (3) measures to strengthen cultural exchanges. The Meeting will also have an expanded session with participants from Palestine and Iraq to discuss the situations in Palestine and Iraq based on briefing by respective participants.
The outcome of the Forum will be directly reported by representatives of each country to each leadership and is expected to be reflected in the policy of each country.

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