Press Releases
Lunch meeting between Foreign Minister Kono and participants of
“Dialogue on Countering Violent Extremism in the Middle East”
On March 15, from 12:30 for approximately 60 minutes, Mr. Taro KONO, Minister for Foreign Affairs, hosted a lunch meeting with participants of “Dialogue on Countering Violent Extremism in the Middle East”, where they discussed ways to prevent and counter terrorism and violent extremism. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
1. At the beginning, Minister Kono welcomed the participants to Japan, and expressed the view that the threats of terrorism and violent extremism are not diminished despite that the fight against Daesh (ISIL) is coming to an end. He added that it is necessary to prevent its resurgence by healing the scars left by violent extremism, and by building society marked by tolerance and respect to diversity in the Middle East.
2. Noting that he attended the Manama Dialogue (PDF)
last December , Minister Kono emphasized that Japan would take measures to promote efforts to build such societies, and that this program is a part of the specific measures of such policy.
3. In response, the participants expressed their gratitude for the invitation, and stated that they expected Japan would play an ever more active role to counter violent extremism.
(Reference) Participants of “Dialogue on Countering Violent Extremism in the Middle East”
(1) Dr. Mohammad Abdulkarim A. Alissa, Secretary General of the Muslim World League (Saudi Arabia)
(2) Dr. Abbas SHOMAN, Deputy sheikh of Al-Azhar (Egypt)
(3) Dr. Ali Rashid Al Noaimi, Chairman of the Hedayah Center (UAE)
(4) Mr. Ahmad Ibrahim al-Hasnaat, Deputy Minister of the Fatwa Department of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Jordan)
(5) Mr. Abdul Kareem Khalaf Na'eem, Former Spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior (Iraq)
(6) Mr. Younes JABRANE, Secretary General of the General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration (Morocco)