Press Releases
Telephone Talk between Foreign Minister HAYASHI and Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates
June 22, 2022
On June 22, commencing at 8:55 a.m. for approximately 15 minutes, Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a telephone talk with Mr. William (Bill) Henry Gates III, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The overview is as follows:
- At the outset, Minister Hayashi expressed his respect to Mr. Gates for his many years of significant contributions to global health, and explained that Japan formulated a new Global Health Strategy in May. Minister Hayashi also stated that Japan would continue to work closely with the Gates Foundation to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) and to build a global health architecture including through strengthening prevention, preparedness and response to future pandemics.
- In response, Co-Chair Bill Gates, noting the Japanese Government's leadership in global health, expressed appreciation for Japan's contributions to international frameworks such as Gavi, the Global Fund, the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT) and Unitaid, as well as its support for the global COVID-19 response through the ACT-Accelerator and its COVAX Facility, while expressing his expectation for the continuous cooperation in these areas. Mr. Gates stated that the Foundation would like to continue close collaboration with the Government of Japan, as the next president of the G7, on various global health issues, including efforts towards achieving UHC and addressing the three major infectious diseases, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases and polioviruses.