Japan and the United Nations
Meeting between Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs ERI Arfiya and Mr. Kamal Kishore, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)
August 21, 2025
On August 21, commencing at 10:30 a.m. for approximately 15 minutes, Ms. ERI Arfiya, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, held a meeting with Mr. Kamal Kishore, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), who was visiting Japan on the occasion of the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9). The summary is as follows.
- At the beginning, Parliamentary Vice-Minister ERI welcomed Special Representative Kishore for attending TICAD 9. She emphasized that disaster risk reduction is a crucial area in building an international community and expressed expectations that UNDRR would take the lead in international disaster risk reduction cooperation, including in Africa where disasters are becoming more frequent and severe, and stated that we would like to continue our close collaboration.
- Parliamentary Vice-Minister ERI also expressed her wish to cooperate with UNDRR toward the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, which will be held in Sendai City in the fall of 2027.
- In response, Special Representative Kishore expressed his gratitude for Japan's contribution, such as hosting the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction three times, and conveyed his expectations for Japan’s continued leadership in the field of disaster risk reduction, and stated his willingness to further strengthen the partnership between Japan and UNDRR going forward.