Courtesy Call on
Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Ichiro Aisawa by Iraqi Diplomats

September 17, 2004

1. A group of 19 diplomats from Iraq who are visiting Japan from September 5 to October 14, 2004 to participate in training programs, paid a courtesy call on Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Ichiro Aisawa.
   
   
2. Senior Vice-Minister Aisawa stated as follows; The group of diplomats are most welcome in Japan, and for many of the diplomats it may be their first time to visit Japan so he would like to ask their impressions of the country. He expects that after completing training in Japan, the diplomats will go on to contribute to nation building in a new Iraq. Although Iraq currently faces a number of difficulties, Japan is providing reconstruction assistance to Iraq in the form of both financing and personnel as the two wheels of one cart, and is fully prepared to providing maximum assistance to Iraq, in cooperation with the international community.
   
   Senior Vice-Minister Aisawa also expressed his admiration for the efforts of the Iraqi team in the Olympic Games in Athens, adding that their performance would have emboldened many Iraqi people.
   
   
3. Representing the group of trainees, Mr. Maziu Nayif expressed his appreciation to Senior Vice-Minister Aisawa on behalf of the group of diplomats who would bear responsibility for the future of Iraq. He also expressed gratitude to the friend of Iraq, the Government of Japan, for providing the opportunity for training, noting what a joy it was to learn the valuable experiences of Japan in postwar reconstruction as well as the construction of a democratic nation. Mr. Nayif also reiterated the warmest appreciation to the staff at related organizations such as the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
   
   
4. During the courtesy call, discussion covered the visits by the group to provincial cities in Japan as part of the training, including Hiroshima, and also descriptions of the home towns of the participants.
   
   
5. Senior Vice-Minister Aisawa mentioned the activities of the Self Defense Forces (SDF) in Samawah, to which the trainee diplomats responded that the dispatch of the SDF was well-known within Iraq.
   
   
6. The courtesy call came to an end with Senior Vice-Minister reiterating his expectation that the training would prove fruitful.