MATSUDA Kuninori, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan celebrates successful conclusion of the 2020 Afghanistan Conference in Geneva co-hosted by Afghanistan Finland and the United Nations

A.M.Bhatti

ISLAMABAD: MATSUDA Kuninori, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, has celebrated the successful conclusion of the 2020 Afghanistan Conference in Geneva on 23rd to 24th November co-hosted by the Government of Afghanistan, the Government of Finland and the United Nations.

The ambassador reiterated his resolve to work with Pakistan on realizing peace and stability in the region.

At the conference in Geneva, H.E. MOTEGI Toshimitsu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, sent a video message to share Japan’s continuous commitment to promote peace, prosperity and self-reliance of Afghanistan. Foreign Minister MOTEGI stated, “Japan has actively contributed to reconstruction of Afghanistan, including through hosting pledging conferences on Afghanistan twice and providing assistance amounting to 6.8 billion USD.” The Minister also stated that Japan would continue to stand with the Afghan Government and its people. “We work on providing assistance from 2021 to 2024, maintaining the amount comparable to the past four years, which was 180 million USD per year. Moreover, with progress in the peace process, we are ready to consider additional support”, the Minister said.

Ambassador MATSUDA underlined the importance of the ongoing Afghanistan peace negotiations and the critical role of Pakistan. “Japan welcomes the Afghanistan peace negotiations and strongly hopes that they will lead to peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region. We highly appreciate the significant effort by the Government of Pakistan to facilitate the Afghan peace process. I look forward to continuing working with Pakistan to reinforce peace and stability in the region, including through various proceeding projects of counter-terrorism and strengthening border security, and support for the host communities of Afghan refugees in the northwest region of Pakistan, especially in the fields of health, education, water and sanitation.”