Japanese
On March 18th, Ms. ERI Arfiya, Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, attended the symposium “South Africa’s G20 Presidency: Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability - a Conversation with Japan”, co-hosted by the United Nations University and the Embassy of South Africa in Japan, with the presence of the Honourable Mr. Paul Mashatile, Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa. She delivered a speech on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The outline of the speech is as follows.
At the outset, Parliamentary Vice-Minister ERI welcomed the visit of Deputy President Mashatile and Cabinet Ministers to Japan, and stated that, while referring to the close relationship between the two countries that have been fostered for 115 years, cooperation between Japan and South Africa has become more important than ever in order to create innovative solutions to global challenges including climate change.
Parliamentary Vice-Minister ERI expressed Japan's support for the priorities set out by South Africa, the G20 Presidency this year, under the theme of “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability.” She also said that Japan would like to cooperate with G20 members to promote efforts, particularly in the fields of disaster risk reduction, critical minerals and debt issues.
Parliamentary Vice-Minister ERI concluded her remarks by announcing Japan’s intention to build on its previous efforts and to work with African countries to co-create solutions to various challenges, at the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) to be held in Yokohama this August, and expressing Japan’s hope to lead the achievements of TICAD 9 to the success of the G20 Johannesburg Summit.