Japan's Training for Iraqi Diplomats

August 30, 2004

1. Based on a request from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iraq, the Government of Japan has decided to conduct training for 19 Iraqi diplomats from September 5 (Sunday) to October 14 (Thursday).
   
   
2. The training aims to contribute to the promotion of friendly relations between Japan and Iraq in the future by importing broad knowledge on Japan's foreign policy and other areas including politics, economy, society, history and culture to Iraqi young diplomats, who will play an important role in Iraq's future diplomacy. The training also informs them of the real figure of Japan, and others capacity building through programs such as lectures on foreign policies and international relations in general.
   
   
3. The lectures will be held on various topics such as Japan's regional and area-based foreign policy, Official Development Assistance (ODA), security and international law. In addition, the Iraqi diplomats are scheduled to visit Japan's legislative bodies and judicial branch including the National Diet and courts, as well as educational institutions, news agencies and local regions.
   
   Furthermore, given that Japan and the Federal Republic of Germany have agreed to coordinate the provision of assistance to Iraq, this training is being conducted with the close cooperation and participation of the Embassy of Germany in Japan.
   
   
4. The training will be conducted as a part of the training programs held by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).