Press Releases
State Minister for Foreign Affairs FUJII’s attendance at “the Central Asian Counter Terrorism Workshop: Building Cooperation and Coordination to Promote the Rule of Law”
On February 14, Mr. FUJII Hisayuki, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, attended the opening session of “the Central Asian Counter Terrorism Workshop: Building Cooperation and Coordination to Promote the Rule of Law”, which was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The overview is as follows.
- At the outset, State Minister Fujii welcomed the participants from the Central Asian countries to Japan, and thanked the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFEI), the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ) and the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France for their cooperation in organizing the event. He also celebrated the holding of the Workshop, which is focused on the theme of “rule of law”, a pillar of Japan’s foreign policy, centering around the fight against terrorism in the Central Asia region.
- In addition, State Minister Fujii underlined the importance of the “rule of law” in the fight against international terrorism, a major challenge to the international community. State Minister Fujii expressed his hope that the workshop, which is a part of the cooperation efforts between Japan and Central Asian countries, close partners that work together to maintain and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rule of law. He highlighted his expectation that the Workshop would contribute to the peace, stability, and prosperity in the region, and that it would further promote broad cooperation between Japan and the Central Asian countries, including in areas such as criminal justice and counter-terrorism.
- The participants of the Workshop in response expressed their appreciation for the initiative of the Ministry to organize this event and expressed their will to continue cooperating with Japan so as to enhance counter-terrorism efforts and promote the “rule of law”.
As part of Japan's efforts to promote and establish the “rule of law” in the international community, prosecutors and law enforcement officials from the five Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) were invited to participate in this workshop in the form of a training session on investigation and and prosecution of incidents related to terrorism under fair and independent criminal justice procedures, as well as the repatriation, reintegration and rehabilitation of former terrorist fighters.
