Participation of H.E. Mr. Shintaro Ito, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, in the Ministerial Meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the Situation in the Middle East and Meeting of Countries of Concern Regarding Sri Lanka

May 8, 2009
Japanese

H.E. Mr. Shintaro Ito, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, will participate in the Ministerial Meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the situation in the Middle East to be held on Monday, May 11 local time (New York, U.S.A.), representing the Government of Japan. The meeting will be chaired by H.E. Mr. Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (note: Russian Federation holds the presidency of the Security Council for the month of May). Other members of the Security Council are scheduled to be represented by Ministers or their deputies.
At the meeting, Mr. Ito will deliver a statement on the role the UN Security Council as the organ with primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, should play regarding the issue of peace in the Middle East, as well as Japan's contributions to the Middle East peace process. He will also exchange views on the Middle East and other issues with the representatives of other Security Council member states.
State Secretary Ito will also attend the ad hoc meeting for concerned countries and international NGOs regarding Sri Lanka to be held in New York, where he will exchange opinions regarding issues including the recent situation in Sri Lanka and its humanitarian situation.

(END)