Japan-South Sudan Relations
Prime Minister Abe Receives a Courtesy Call from H.E. James Wani Igga, Vice-President of the Republic of South Sudan
August 29, 2019
Prime Minister Abe Receives a Courtesy Call from H.E. James Wani Igga, Vice-President of the Republic of South Sudan(Photo: Cabinet Public Relations Office)
On August 29, for about 15 minutes, from 10:50 am, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe received a courtesy call from H.E. Mr. James Wani Igga, Vice-President of the Republic of South Sudan, in Yokohama, Japan. The overview of the courtesy call is as follows. Vice-President James Wani Igga is visiting Japan to participate in the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) held from August 28 to 30.
- At the outset, Prime Minister Abe stated, “I am very glad to meet with Vice-President Igga again.” In response, Vice-President Igga expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome and stated that TICAD is themed around human-centered development, science and technology, and innovation, and as such, is an important conference leading to progress, prosperity, and economic growth in Africa.
- Following that, Prime Minister Abe stated, “The stability of the South Sudan situation is the key to the peace and stability of the entire Horn of Africa. From this point of view, Japan will support the implementation of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict.” Prime Minister Abe further commented that Japan will continuously cooperate with South Sudan in the recovery of peace and stability of the country, and that Japan will call for support from the international society. Furthermore, Prime Minister Abe mentioned that the construction of the Nile River Bridge, supported by Japan, had been resumed, and that Japan will continue to provide assistance in developing human resources in South Sudan. Additionally, Prime Minister Abe mentioned that Japan is currently dispatching four officers to the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS), who are working as personnel for the headquarters, and that Japan will continuously make contributions to South Sudan through the United Nations. In response, Vice-President Igga expressed his gratitude for Japan’s support for the peace process in South Sudan and stated that, following the peace agreement, support by the international society including Japan for the return and resettlement of internally displaced persons will be important. In addition, the two leaders welcomed the cooperation in sports between South Sudan and its host town Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture.
- The two also exchanged views regarding cooperation in the international arena, including UN Security Council reform, and the North Korea situation.