2019.08.01 Meeting with H.E. Mr. Hiroshi Oka, Assistant Minister & Director General of the Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau; as well as Special Representative to Afghanistan, at MOFA Japan Headquarters

Meeting with H.E. Mr. Hiroshi Oka, Assistant Minister & Director General of the Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau; as well as Special Representative to Afghanistan, at MOFA Japan Headquarters.

January 8, 2019: His Excellency Dr. Bashir Mohabbat had the pleasure in meeting for the first time in the new year with H.E. Mr. Hiroshi Oka, Assistant Minister & Director General of the Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau; as well as Special Representative to Afghanistan, at MOFA headquarters in Kasumigaseki. Also in attendance was Mr. Basir Ahmad Hamdard, First Secretary for the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Japan.

H.E. Director-General Mr. Oka welcomed H.E. Ambassador Dr. Mohabbat, thanked him for making the time to meet once again, and expressed his sincerest appreciation for the continuous and deep friendship between Afghanistan and Japan. In return, H.E. Ambassador Dr. Mohabbat thanked H.E. Mr. Oka for meeting once again and his kind words. Furthermore, on behalf of the people and Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, H.E. Dr. Mohabbat expressed a happy New Year 2019 wishing for wellness and prosperity for the noble nation of Japan and the friendly Japanese people, as well as for profound strengthening of the robust relations between Afghanistan and Japan as they work together, along with all the nations of the world, for continued progress in peace across the globe and particularly for Afghanistan. Additionally he remarked that recently there have been many advances in the realm of peace talks for Afghanistan in an Afghan-owned Afghan-led process, which Afghans have been so desperately seeking for many years, and that the factors which have enabled them to unfold and come to fruition has been thanks in part to the ground laying contributions and assistance from the international community, most notable from their strong friend and ally, Japan.

H.E. Mr. Oka thanked H.E. Dr. Mohabbat for his words and wishes and in kind expressed his earnest wishes for a most successful 2019 for the Afghan people and Government as it continues development, advancing democracy, human capacity building, economic strengthening and the Afghan-owned & Afghan-led striving for peace that it is vital for the future prosperity of Afghanistan. Further, H.E. Mr. Oka assured H.E. Dr. Mohabbat that Japan would continue to stand with Afghanistan well into the future, seeing to it the acquiring of economic strength, significantly improved quality of life for the Afghan people, and peace for the region. All of those present further discussed foundational ways for advancing the peace process recently discussed such as those at conferences like the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan held in November of 2018.

Original Page