06/06/2012 Ambassador Fatimie attends reception for Mayors of municipalities across Japan hosted by H.E. Foreign Minister Gemba

June 6, 2012: 

Ambassador Dr. Sayed M. Amin Fatimie attended a reception for the Mayors of a number of municipalities across Japan hosted by H.E. Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba (pictured above) at the Iikura House in Tokyo. This reception was organized in large part to allow for the diplomatic community to forge stronger ties with Japanese municipalities, the importance of which was emphasized by H.E. Foreign Minister Gemba in his speech, referring to this as an extension of Japan’s diplomatic policy.


Ambassador Fatimie had the honor of meeting with a number of key attendees that evening, including H.E. the Foreign Minister, to whom he extended deepest gratitude, on behalf of the people and Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, both for the cooperation that has been generously extended to Afghanistan’s peace and development already, and for the enlightened initiative of the upcoming Tokyo Conference on Afghanistan. H.E. Foreign Minister Gemba kindly expressed his desire to see a successful and impactful result come forth from the Conference.

Other key figures that the Ambassador met also included the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan’s Director General Shigeo Matsutomi and Director Shinichi Asazuma of the Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau, whom Ambassador asked to extend to his colleagues sincerest gratitude for the role that the Bureau plays in connecting the two nations; and Director Hideaki Kuramitsu of the European Policy Division and Asia-Europe Cooperation Division of the European Affairs Bureau, whom he extended deepest gratitude to for the Bureau’s contribution to the training of Afghan police forces. Additionally, Ambassador Fatimie was able to interact with Hon. Mayor Tamio Mori (pictured below) of Nagaoka city, who serves as a chief of the Mayors’ grouping, and a comprehensive number of Mayors in attendance.