Europe
The Banquet Hosted by Prime Minister TAKAICHI
(Photo: Cabinet Public Affairs Office)
(Photo: Cabinet Public Affairs Office)
On December 19, commencing at around 7:15 p.m. for approximately an hour, Ms. TAKAICHI Sanae, Prime Minister of Japan, hosted a dinner at the State Guest House, Akasaka Palace, welcoming the Presidents of the five Central Asian countries who are visiting Japan to attend the Summit Meeting of the "Central Asia plus Japan" Dialogue (CA+JAD). From the Central Asian side, delegations including the Presidents and Foreign Ministers of each country attended, and from the Japanese side, Mr. MOTEGI Toshimitsu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, and other officials of the Government of Japanese, as well as members related to the Japan-Central Asia Parliamentary Friendship League, including Mr. ASO Taro, Chairman of Japan-Central Asia Parliamentary Friendship League, and representatives from various fields attended. The overview is as follows:
- At the beginning, Prime Minister TAKAICHI, in her opening remarks, welcomed the visit of each country's delegation to Japan, and stated that Japan, through the CA+JAD, which was launched for the first time in the world in 2004, has promoted regional cooperation within Central Asia at various levels including the Foreign Minister level, as well as in various fields. She also expressed her desire to further deepen the friendship between Japan and Central Asia, whose foundation rest on the historical relations spanning over more than a thousand years.
- At the dinner, in a warm atmosphere, cuisines using abundant seasonal domestic ingredients were served, providing a meaningful opportunity to showcase the appeal of Japanese culinary culture to the Central Asian countries.
- The delegations of the Central Asian countries expressed gratitude for Japan's hospitality, along with high expectations for further strengthening relations with Japan through the first Summit meeting of the CA+JAD to be held on December 20.
(Reference)"Central Asia plus Japan" Dialogue (CA+JAD)
- From the perspective that regional cooperation aimed at solving common regional issues is essential for the stability and development of Central Asia, Japan established a dialogue framework in 2004 to promote such regional cooperation (the first Foreign Ministers' Meeting was held in Kazakhstan in August in 2004).
- Under this dialogue framework, 10 Foreign Ministers' Meetings have been held so far, including in online format. In addition, various discussions have been conducted with the participation of experts and business people in sector-specific Experts’ Meetings and public symposiums such as the "Tokyo Dialogue.