Courtesy Call on Prime Minister Fukuda by the Heads of United Nations Organizations

May 29, 2008

1. For about 15 minutes from 6:45 p.m. on May 29, Prime Minister Fukuda received a courtesy call from the heads of UN organizations who are taking part in the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV). From the UN organs, 13 people joined the courtesy call, including Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro, UN Deputy Secretary-General, and Mr. Kemal Dervis, UNDP Administrator, co-hosts of the TICAD IV.
2. At the outset, praising Japan's strong leadership in African development, Dr. Migiro said that the main themes of the TICAD IV --- "Boosting Economic Growth," "Establishment of Human Security" including consolidation of peace and "Addressing Environmental Issues and Climate Change" are also priority tasks for the UN, and therefore the UN looks forward to strengthening its cooperation with Japan in these fields.
3. Offering congratulations on the success of TICAD IV, Mr. Dervis said that UN organizations would, in concert, cooperate with Japan to realize human security and address the issue of climate change, and added that he highly valued the fact that the TICAD process had been advanced not only in the context of Japan and Africa but with the full engagement of international organizations.
4. In response, Prime Minister Fukuda expressed his gratitude for the contribution made by these organizations from the preparatory stage, and said that the most important feature of TICAD was that it was a paticipatory forum involving not only African countries but also international organizations and civil society working together for African development. Mr. Fukuda added that he would like to tie in the outcome of TICAD IV,with the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit in July and at the UN General Assembly in September.