Press Releases
Courtesy call on Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs MATSUMOTO Hisashi by trainees from the “The Shimanami Collective: Sea and Human Security For Free and Open Indo-Pacific” hosted by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
On February 19, commencing at 10:00 a.m. for approximately 30 minutes, Mr. MATSUMOTO Hisashi, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, received a courtesy call by the 50 trainees participating in the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) training program,“The Shimanami Collective: Sea and Human Security For Free and Open Indo-Pacific.” The training program is implemented by UNITAR with support from the Japanese Government.
- At the outset, Parliamentary Vice-Minister Matsumoto stated that the Indo-Pacific region is vulnerable to natural threats, including tsunamis and Japan is promoting cooperation with Indo-Pacific countries while utilizing its own knowledge.
- After a brief explanation of the training program and an expression of gratitude to the Government of Japan by Ms. Mikami, the Head of UNITAR Hiroshima Office, three representatives of the trainees introduced the outcomes of the training program.
- Finally, Parliamentary Vice-Minister Matsumoto, touched upon the spirit of ‘wa’, which includes cooperation and harmony, and emphasized that human resource development, including this training, is an area that Japan has consistently prioritized. He concluded by saying that he was pleased to hear directly from the trainees about their feedback on the training program, and hoped that the they would play an active role in this area in their countries in the future, and that Japan would be with them all.
Established in 1963, UNITAR's main duties are to provide training for government officials from developing countries and to conduct research related to the functions and objectives of the United Nations. Its headquarter is located in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2003, the Hiroshima Office was established as the only international organization office in Japan located in Hiroshima.
This is a capacity-building support program for government officials from foreign countries on Sea and Human Security, and is being implemented by the UNITAR Hiroshima Office with financial support from the Japanese government. For this visit to Japan, 50 trainees (ASEAN countries (excluding Singapore), India, Sri Lanka, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu) who achieved particularly good results in the online course (Phase 1) have been selected, and the aim is to gain a deeper understanding of contents studied in Phase 1, including on-site training.