On December 1, commencing at 3:00 p.m. for approximately 45 minutes, Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, received a courtesy call from Ambassadors of the SADC (Southern African Development Community) countries to Japan. The overview is as follows.
- At the outset, after expressing her respect to the ambassadors of the Southern African countries to Japan for their daily efforts to strengthen relations with Japan, Minister Kamikawa stated that Japan and Southern African countries are important partners in tackling various challenges together and, based on the longstanding trust of each other, she would like to further develop the relationship in a wide range of areas including the economic area.
- In response, H.E. Mr. José Maria da Silva Vieira de MORAIS, Ambassador of the Republic of Mozambique to Japan and Dean of the SADC Diplomatic Missions to Japan congratulated Minister Kamikawa on her appointment as Minister for Foreign Affairs, and expressed his high appreciation and gratitude for the role that Japan plays in the development of Southern Africa. He also stated that he would like to continue to develop relations between Japan and Southern African countries from multiple perspectives including increasing investment from Japan and strengthening human resource development. Other ambassadors also added that they would like to strengthen the economic relations between the Southern African region and Japan as well as bilateral relations.
- Minister Kamikawa stated that she would like to continue a good dialogue with the ambassadors to Japan and, with further involvement of related organizations such as JICA and Keidanren, work more closely in such areas as human resource development, especially youth, rule of law, and water issues in both bilateral and multilateral contexts, looking ahead to the TICAD Ministerial Meeting to be held in Tokyo next year, and the TICAD 9 to be held in Yokohama in 2025.
[Note] Southern African Development Community (SADC):
Sixteen Southern African countries (Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Mauritius, DRC, Madagascar, Seychelles and Comoros) are members, andit aims at regional economic integration through cooperation in the areas of peace and security, politics, development, and poverty reduction. The headquarters office is located in Gaborone, Botswana.
(Reference) Twelve Ammbassadors of the SADC Diplomatic Missions:
Mozambique (Dean), Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Angola, DRC, Madagascar (Chargé d’Affaires ad interim) and Botswana (Chargé d’Affaires ad interim)
Font: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan