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Press Conference, 9 September 2008

  1. Japan-India EPA negotiations
  2. Japan's participation in maritime security exercises
  3. Appointment of Takahisa Kawakami as Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Timor-Leste

Deputy Press Secretary Yasuhisa Kawamura: Good afternoon. Welcome to the press conference.

I have a couple of announcements before I take your questions.

I. Japan-India EPA negotiations

First, Japan and India are now conducting the 9th round of negotiations on the Japan-India EPA or Economic Partnership Agreement in New Delhi, India. This round started yesterday, Monday, the 8th and will continue until Friday, the 12th. The two sides are discussing market access of trade in goods and other issues including rules of origin, customs procedures, trade in services, investment, IPR, and bilateral cooperation.

Related Information (Press Release)

II. Japan's participation in maritime security exercises

Second, Japan will dispatch officials to participate in the Proliferation Security Initiative or PSI Maritime Interdiction Exercise called "Maru" to be held for a week starting from this coming Friday, the 12th in Auckland, New Zealand. This exercise is the first one for New Zealand to host, and Japan will do its utmost to bring success to this exercise including search and tracking exercises at sea, cargo inspection exercises at the port, and tabletop exercises.

Related Information (Press Release)

III. Appointment of Takahisa Kawakami as Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Timor-Leste

And, third and last, Japan welcomes the recent announcement by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the appointment of Takahisa Kawakami, former Minister-Counselor, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations, at present the Chief of Staff in the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General or DSRSG for Timor-Leste.

His role includes providing policy guidance for rebuilding of the national police, and assisting the reform of the security sector and strengthening of the justice sector in Timor-Leste. He will be the only Japanese staff member who holds the post of DSRSG or above among the 16 current UN peacekeeping operations and is expected to assume the position in this fall. Japan has been supporting nation-building in Timor-Leste since its pre-independence days and will continue to support its peace-building efforts.

Related Information (Press Release)

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