Press Releases
Courtesy Call on Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs MATSUMOTO Hisashi by Ms. Kitty van der Heijden, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
June 18, 2025
On June 18, from 5:45 p.m. for approximately 15 minutes, Mr. MATSUMOTO Hisashi, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, received a courtesy call from Ms. Kitty van der Heijden, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), who is visiting Japan. The overview of their meeting is as follows:
- Parliamentary Vice-Minister Matsumoto welcomed Deputy Executive Director van der Heijden’s visit to Japan and, while referring to the 36th Japan-UNICEF Annual Consultation, expressed high appreciation for UNICEF's continued collaboration with Japan as an indispensable partner in the fields of diplomacy and development cooperation. He commended UNICEF’s multifaceted contributions to various forms of assistance.
Furthermore, Parliamentary Vice-Minister Matsumoto underscored the increasing importance of UNICEF’s role in light of the severe circumstances faced by many children across the globe. He emphasized the critical role of UNICEF—renowned for its broad reach, strong advocacy, and high public profile and expressed his intent to further strengthen cooperation with UNICEF moving forward. - In response, Deputy Executive Director van der Heijden expressed her gratitude for Japan’s longstanding support of UNICEF. She also conveyed her intention to further deepen collaboration with Japan in shared priority areas, including human security.