Press Releases

Today, on June 2, Mr. Kenji Hiramatsu, Deputy Vice-Minister for Foreign Policy/Director-General, Foreign Policy Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held the First Japan-United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Strategic Policy Dialogue with Mr. Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of UNODC, who was visiting Japan to attend the 5th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V). The overview of the meeting is as follows.

 

1. Mr. Hiramatsu began the meeting by stating that Japan intends to take its relationship with UNODC to a new level based on UNODC’s participation in TICAD V for the first time, and the formulation of the Japan-UNODC Joint Plan of Action.

 

2. Mr. Hiramatsu commented that Japan is pleased that, with the cooperation of UNODC it can now implement technical assistance projects in countering terrorism in the North Africa and Sahel region. He added that such initiatives will significantly contribute to peace and stability in Africa.

 

3. Mr. Fedotov responded by thanking Japan for its support for UNODC, and he stated that UNODC intends to collaborate further with Japan in North Africa as well as in other regions such as Southeast Asia and Afghanistan in the future.

 

4. Mr. Hiramatsu and Mr. Fedotov discussed future cooperation in regions like Africa, Southeast Asia, and Afghanistan, and in the areas of countering illicit drug trafficking, human trafficking, and other types of international organized crime; corruption; and terrorism. The two sides shared the view that they move ahead with cooperation in new fields such as human security and cybercrime.    

 

5. Lastly, Mr. Hiramatsu and Mr. Fedotov signed the Japan-UNODC Joint Plan of Action and shared the view that the next Strategic Policy Dialogue will be held during the first half of next year.