Press Releases
Foreign Minister Kono to Visit Austria and Germany
1. H.E. Mr. Taro Kono, Minister for Foreign Affairs, will visit Vienna, the Republic of Austria, and Munich, the Federal Republic of Germany, from February 15 to 18.
2. In Vienna, Minister Kono is scheduled to hold a meeting with Mr. Yukiya Amano, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and to be briefed on the CTBT verification regime by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), which monitors nuclear tests worldwide, including those conducted byNorth Korea. Minister Kono will also conduct a meeting with Mr. Thomas Greminger, Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and have a meeting with Japanese staff working at International Organizations in Vienna.
3. In Germany, Minister Kono is scheduled to attend the Munich Security Conference (MSC) to enhance international community’s understanding on the security environment surrounding Japan.
[Reference 1] Itinerary of Minister Kono’s visit
| February 15 | Depart | from Haneda(Transit in Frankfurt) |
| Arrive | in Vienna | |
| Hold a meeting with OSCE Secretary General Greminger | ||
| Hold a meeting with IAEA Director General Amano and | ||
| Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) | ||
| February 16 | Depart | from Vienna |
| Arrive | in Munich | |
| Attend in Munich Security Conference (MSC) | ||
| February 17 | Attend in Munich Security Conference (MSC) | |
| Depart | from Munich | |
| February 18 | Arrive in Haneda |
[Reference 2] The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
The IAEA is an international organizationthat was established in 1957 for the purposes of promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy and preventing its diversion for military purposes, based on the IAEA Statute. (It currently has 169 Member States).
[Reference 3] The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
(1) Outline
The OSCE was established in 1975 as the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) (the name was changed in 1995). It is the world’s largest regional security organization, and it comprises 57 Participating States from Europe, Central Asia and North America. It has 11 Partners for Co-operation, including Japan. As an organization it possesses a wealth of experience and expertise for promoting the security environment, along with a broad network and diverse channels of activity, and recently it contributes to stabilizing the situation in Ukraine, including dispatching a democratization mission to the country.
(2) Participating States (57 states in total)
Iceland, Ireland, Azerbaijan, the United States of America, Albania, Armenia, Andorra, Italy, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, the United Kingdom, Estonia, Austria, the Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Canada, Cyprus, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia. Croatia, San Marino, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Norway, Holy See, Hungary, Finland, France, Bulgaria, Belarus, Belgium, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Portugal, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Romania, Luxembourg, Russia.
(3) Partners for Co-operation (11 states)
Japan, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Afghanistan, Australia, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Jordan, Israel, Tunisia
[Reference 4] The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO)
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) was established in 1996 in order to undertake preparations for implementing the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). The Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) was established in Vienna as the secretariat of the Preparatory Commission for the CTBTO. The PTS is preparing a verification regime for the CTBT, including constructing an International Monitoring System (IMS) and establishing an International Data Center to process data sent from IMS facilities located around the world, in order to prepare a verification regime by the time the CTBT enters into force. Mr. Lassina Zerbo, who is from Burkina Faso, is the Executive Secretary of the PTS.