Diplomacy

Okada Heads Off to Central Asia plus Japan Foreign Ministers' Meeting

Friday, August 6, 2010

CAPJ

Tokyo -- Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada has just boarded an airplane ultimately bound for Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The purpose of this trip is to attend the Third Foreign Minister's Meeting of the Central Asia plus Japan dialogue.

This dialogue framework was launched six years ago in August 2004 with the intention both of strengthening Japan's relations with former Soviet Central Asia as well as to promote intraregional discussions among the Central Asian countries themselves.

The host of the Third Foreign Minister's Meeting is Uzbekistan, the most populous state in the sub-region. Okada will also be holding a number of bilateral meetings with his counterparts.

A Japanese government official told PanOrient News, "Because of its geographical importance and the existence of abundant energy and mineral resources, Japan has also been very active concerning the stability and development of Central Asia."

As to the question why a Central Asia plus Japan Foreign Ministers' Meeting hasn't taken place in over four years, the official stated that the main reason for the long gap was simply that it is technically difficult to coordinate all the schedules and that Japanese governments have been going through rapid personnel changes.

The official described Central Asia plus Japan as a softer and more flexible framework than that of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.


Chronology of Central Asia plus Japan

Aug. 2004 - First Foreign Ministers' Meeting (Astana)
Dec. 2004 - Dialogue Meeting (Sofia)
Mar. 2005 - First Senior Officials' Meeting (Tashkent)
Feb. 2006 - Second Senior Officials' Meeting (Astana)
Mar. 2006 - First Tokyo Dialogue
Jun. 2006 - Second Foreign Ministers' Meeting (Tokyo)
Jan. 2007 - Second Tokyo Dialogue
Dec. 2007 - Third Senior Officials' Meeting (Dushanbe)
Jul. 2008 - Fourth Senior Officials' Meeting (Tashkent)
Feb. 2009 - Third Tokyo Dialogue
Feb. 2010 - Fourth Tokyo Dialogue
Jul. 2010 - Fifth Senior Officials' Meeting (Tashkent)
Aug. 2010 - Third Foreign Ministers' Meeting (Tashkent)


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