Members of the Japanese Press attendance at the ADC Website launching on February 26, 2009.

Within the context of their overall efforts to consolidate the friendly relations and mutual understanding with Japanese Media and Press, the African Diplomatic Corps (ADC), through H.E. Ambassador Dr. Walid M. Abdelnasser, the Chairman of the ADC Media and Cultural Committee, has decided to host, a get together with prominent representatives of the Japanese mass media circles on May 12, 2009 at the Egyptian Ambassador’s Residence.

The event is a clear endeavor on the part of the African Diplomatic Corps in its collective diplomacy for a genuine outreach with the Japanese media and press, with the aim of sharing information and news regarding the latest developments in the African continent on the political, economic, scientific, technological, touristic and cultural fronts.

It is worth mentioning that this gathering comes timely, in light of the fact that preparations are under way to hold the “Africa Day” on May 25, 2009 in cooperation with the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nation University in its headquarters in Tokyo.  In addition, these last twelve months or so have been crucial in the Japanese relations with Africa taking into account the holding of The Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) in Yokohama during the period May 28-30, 2008, and the First TICAD Ministerial Follow-up Meeting in Gaborone, Botswana on March 21-22, 2009 in which Japan reiterated its pledge to double its official development assistance to African nations during the next five years in line with the Yokohama Declaration Action Plan.

The African Diplomatic Corps finds it of extreme importance to increase the positive presence of an array of African issues and the African countries’ aspiration for development in all means of Japanese mass media, whether TV, radio, newspapers or internet.

With this aim in mind, the Get Together will also introduce the newly launched African Diplomatic Corps web-site, which is mainly intended to introduce relevant information about the African countries in different fields to increase the interest and awareness of the Japanese public opinion about the continent.