On August 20, commencing at 11:00 a.m. for approximately 15 minutes, Mr. IWAYA Takeshi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a Foreign Ministers’ meeting with Hon. Sering Modou NJIE, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, the Republic of The Gambia, who is visiting Japan to participate in the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9). The overview of the meeting is as follows:
- At the outset, Minister IWAYA stated that he would like to reaffirm the strengthening of bilateral relations and cooperation in addressing challenges facing the international community with the Gambia, an important friend that shares values and principles such as democracy and the rule of law. In response, Minister Njie expressed his gratitude for Japan’s warm welcome to the Gambian delegation at TICAD 9, highly praised Japan’s efforts for The Gambia at TICAD, and stated his desire to further strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation in the international arena.
- Following that, Minister IWAYA stated that Japan would continue to cooperate with The Gambia on food security through the provision of agricultural equipment and food assistance. He also introduced support for the digitalization of education and the introduction of food drying technology utilizing Japanese companies’ expertise, while also expressing Japan’s intention to continue promoting such public-private partnerships. In response, Minister Njie expressed his gratitude for Japan’s support and his hope for further expansion of public-private partnership projects in the agriculture and health sectors, further investment by Japanese companies, and Japan’s continued role in promoting peace and stability.
- Furthermore, the two minister confirmed to work together to respond to various regional and international challenges, including their policies toward North Korea including on the nuclear and missile issues and the abductions issue, as well as the United Nations Security Council reform.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.