|
AMMAN (JT) — A Japanese Mission for
Cultural Exchange and Dialogue with the Middle East is arriving in
Amman on Friday as part of a regional tour.
Members of the delegation are to take
part in a symposium entitled “Tradition and Modernisation: A
Jordanian-Japanese Dialogue” to be held at the Royal Cultural
Centre on Sunday.
The symposium will include
presentations on “Japan-Jordan Relations and the Broader Middle
East Initiative from the Perspective of Cultural Exchange” by
Tokyo Professor Masayuki Yamauchi, “Japan and Western
Civilisation” by Kobe University Professor Makoto Iokibe, and
“Economic Development and Culture” by Japan Bank for
International Cooperation Deputy Governor Koji Tanami.
Also addressing the symposium, which
is to be attended by Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher, will be
Planning Minister Bassem Awadallah who will tackle the economic
dimension of bilateral ties, as well as former Foreign Minister
Abdul Ilah Khatib who will address the political dimension.
The meeting, organised by the Royal
Institute for Inter-Faith Studies and the Jordan Institute of
Diplomacy in cooperation with the Japan Foundation and the embassy
of Japan, is being held to mark the 50th anniversary of the
establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
It will also tackle social and
women's issues by other Japanese and Jordanian experts.
Led by Yamauchi, the mission includes
— in addition to Iokibe and Tanami — Tokai University
Professor Yasuhiro Yamashita, Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK)
Chief Correspondent in Bangkok Miki Ebara, Deputy Director General
of the Foreign Ministry's Public Diplomacy Department Tsukawa
Kawada, Japan Foundation Executive Vice President Toru Kodaki,
Shinsuke Ikeda of the foreign ministry's public diplomacy
department and Koji Sato of the Japan Foundation.
In a recent interview with The Jordan
Times in Tokyo, mission head Yamauchi underlined the importance of
exchanging visits and views at various levels to enhance ties
between Japan and the Arab world.
The Tokyo University professor said
Japan, which enjoys good ties with the Middle East, needs such
contacts all the time.
“We try to bridge from our side
between Japan and the Middle East,” he said, calling on Arab
countries to take similar steps.
Yamauchi said Japan is keen to
advocate Arab causes at international forums and urged Arab states
to clearly state their positions on issues of concern to them.
In addition to Jordan, the Japanese
mission is visiting France, Iran and Saudi Arabia. |
