Press Releases
Courtesy Call on Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide by Dr. Tedros Adhanom, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO)
July 22, 2021
Courtesy Call on Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide by Dr. Tedros Adhanom, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO)
(Photo: Cabinet Public Relations Office)
On July 22, H.E. Dr. Tedros Adhanom, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), paid a courtesy call to Mr. SUGA Yoshihide, Prime Minister of Japan, for approximately 25 minutes. The overview of the meeting is as follows;
- Prime Minister SUGA welcomed the visit of Dr. Tedros and commended WHO's central role in the face of the great challenges of the COVID-19. In addition, regarding the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, the Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to Dr. Tedros for his efforts in advising on infection control at the Games, and stated that he would like to convey the message to the world from Japan that the world can unite and overcome difficulties by leveraging the efforts and wisdom of humankind. In response, Dr. Tedros stated that he congratulated the Tokyo Games 2020 will be held and that Japan has made the utmost efforts to measures against COVID-19. Dr. Tedros also expressed his gratitude for Japan's contribution to the global fight against COVID-19 and for its long-standing contributions to promote Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
- Prime Minister SUGA stated that Japan is making every effort to accelerate vaccination in Japan and at the same time attaches great importance to ensuring equitable access to vaccines around the world. He explained Japan’s vaccine-related support, including co-hosting of the COVAX AMC Summit. In response, Dr.Tedros appreciated Japan’s vaccine-related support as well as its leadership at G7 and G20 and stated that he would like to continue to work together to end the global pandemic.
- Furthermore, while Prime Minister SUGA stated that Japan recognizes the critical role of WHO in responding to the health crisis and would actively contribute to the discussions on WHO review and reform, he pointed out that it is important to widely share information and knowledge from each country and region of the world and to conduct the study of the origin of COVID-19. In response, Dr. Tedros expressed his appreciation for Japan’s contribution to WHO and stated that WHO would also make efforts to strengthen its preparedness and response to future health crises.
- Finally, Prime Minister SUGA stated that the Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit will be held in December this year. Prime Minister SUGA and Dr. Tedros shared the view to continue to cooperate in tackling global health issues.