Press Conferences

Mr. Koichi Mizushima: The first item is the visit of Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Hirotaka Ishihara to Mozambique, Guinea and Burkina Faso. Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Hirotaka Ishihara is scheduled to visit Mozambique, Guinea and Bukina Faso from June 25 to July 4.

In Mozambique, Parliamentary Vice-Minister Ishihara will make a statement on behalf of the Government of Japan at a high-level session of the Third Review Conference of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, which will be held in Maputo. He is also scheduled to visit Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) project sites and exchange views with people who are engaged in those projects.

In Guinea and Burkina Faso, Parliamentary Vice-Minister Ishihara is scheduled to hold meetings with key government officials in order to further strengthen ties with the two countries through follow-up discussions on last year’s TICAD V and the First TICAD V Ministerial Meeting which was held in Cameroon in May this year.

Mr. Koichi Mizushima: The second one is about the fifth round of negotiations for Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The fifth round of negotiations for Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will be held in Singapore, from June 21 to 27.

Mr. Yasushi Masaki, Deputy Director-General, Economic Affairs Bureau of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and representatives from other relevant ministries will attend the meeting.

In this round of negotiations, in addition to the meetings of the Trade Negotiating Committee, in which senior officials will participate, working groups meetings on Trade in Goods, Trade in Services, Investment, Economic and Technical Cooperation, Intellectual Property, Competition, and Legal and Institutional Issues are scheduled to be held, and the scope and method of negotiations, amongst others, will be discussed.