Press Releases
Second round of the Japan-NATO Joint Study Group on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (overview)
On September 26, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the Ministry of Defense (MOD) held the second round of the Japan-NATO Joint Study Group on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief with NATO at the MOFA in Tokyo.
The Japanese delegation was headed by Mr. Norio Maruyama, Deputy Director General of European Affairs Bureau, MOFA. The NATO delegation was headed by Ambassador Francesca Tardioli, Deputy Assistant Secretary General Operations Division.
The joint study group was launched in order to study the possibility of Japan-NATO cooperation in the field of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief based on the Joint Political Declaration signed in April 2013 by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Taking into consideration the outcome of the first round of the study group, Japan and NATO examined during the second round opportunities for cooperation and ways and means to overcome common challenges by assuming a concrete case. A third meeting will be held at some mutually convenient time.
* NATO was established by 12 members in 1949 to defend allied nations. The organization has now 28 allies in North America and Europe. Japan is one of the Partners across the globe together with South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Iraq, Afghanistan, Mongolia, and Pakistan. NATO is promoting dialogue with these partners.
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