Press Releases
Meeting between State Minister for Foreign Affairs MIYAJI and Ms. Elizabeth Solomon, Assistant Secretary General, Foreign and Community Relations, CARICOM Secretariat
December 13, 2024
On December 13, commencing at 5:10 p.m. for approximately 30 minutes, Mr. MIYAJI Takuma, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a meeting with Ms. Elizabeth Solomon, Assistant Secretary General, Foreign and Community Relations, CARICOM Secretariat, who was visiting Japan to attend the Eighth Japan-CARICOM Ministerial-Level Conference. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
- At the outset, State Minister Miyaji welcomed Assistant Secretary General Solomon's visit to Japan on the occasion of the Eighth Japan-CARICOM Ministerial-Level Conference scheduled on December 14, and appreciated the progress of high-level exchanges between Japan and the CARICOM Secretariat, such as the visit of Dr. Carla Natalie Barnett, Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, to Japan in March this year.
- State Minister Miyaji noted that Japan has built on cooperation in the past 10 years towards overcoming the vulnerabilities particular to small island states and sustainable development, in line with the three pillars of Japan’s CARICOM policy. In addition, he stated that in March of this year, Japan contributed approximately 2.1 million dollars to the CARICOM Secretariat through the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) to support the development of disaster prevention systems in the Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
- Additionally, State Minister Miyaji stated that, as both Secretary General Barnett and Assistant Secretary General Solomon are women, the active participation of women in the Caribbean is remarkable. He expressed his desire to promote cooperation in line with the "Diplomatic Initiative toward Latin America and the Caribbean" with a Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) perspective. In response, Assistant Secretary General Solomon expressed her appreciation for Japan’s assistance for CARICOM states and stated that she would like to continue to work with Japan. She welcomed Japanese decision to realize cooperation project for Haiti considering WPS and stated her hope to continue to cooperate in such area.
- The two ministers affirmed to strengthen Japan-CARICOM relations and exchanged views on international issues. They concurred to continue to cooperate closely in the international arena based on the Global Partnership.