International Ministerial Conference on Avian and Pandemic Influenza Held in Egypt

October 26, 2008
Japanese

(1) From October 25(Sat) to 26(Sun), an International Ministerial Conference on Avian and Pandemic Influenza was held in Sharm El-Shiekh, Egypt, hosted by the Government of Egypt.
(2) The delegation of Japan to the Conference, headed by Ambassador Shinsuke Sugiyama, Director-General for Global Issues, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, consisted of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
(3) In consideration of the importance of the Conference, Japan pledged an additional assistance totaling approximately 24 million US dollars as part of its international cooperation for measures against avian and pandemic influenza. At the Conference, a total of 350 million US dollars was pledged as additional assistance, and Japan’s assistance was the second largest after 320 million US dollars pledged by the United States.

At the Conference, while announcing the additional assistance from Japan, Ambassador Sugiyama pointed out:
(1) All donor countries should promptly disburse the assistance they pledged.
(2) Timely sharing of virus samples with the World Health Organization (WHO) is essential for countries affected by avian or pandemic influenza. Japan hopes that progress will be made at the Inter-Governmental Meeting to be hosted by the WHO in December.

(1) The Conference was attended by delegations from 132 countries, including those ministerial-level from 62 countries, and 26 international organizations. Ambassador Sugiyama chaired a session that discussed “Community Participation and Communication.”
(2) At the Conference, the experience of each country was widely shared as to cross-sectional approaches as well as their efforts in specific areas such as animal hygiene and health, and also as to transparent and participatory approaches at the community.
(3) As a result of the discussion, participants shared the view that each country had achieved some positive results, but the threat of the pandemic influenza still loomed large; therefore, developed and developing countries should cooperate with each other to address the common global threat.
(4) In addition, the ASEAN countries and international organizations took this opportunity to express gratitude for Japan’s assistance.

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