Statement by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the Adoption of the U.N. Resolution concerning Expansion of the Mandate of the ISAF in Afghanistan

October 15, 2003

Japan welcomes unanimous adoption on the afternoon of October 13 New York time (Japan time: October 14) by the United Nations Security Council, Security Council Resolution 1510, which enabled the expansion of the mandate of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in areas of Afghanistan outside of Kabul and its environs, and decided the extension of the authorization of ISAF for a period of 12 months.
Japan has highly valued the role played by ISAF in securing order in the capital of Kabul, and expects that the expansion of the mandate and the extension of the authorization of ISAF will further promote security and national reconstruction of Afghanistan.
As Japan has had close dialogue with the NATO member countries and other ISAF-dispatching countries over such matters as how to go about the DDR (disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of the former combatants) process upon Japan's initiative, it intends to enhance cooperation with these countries.

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