Ambassador Fatimie welcomes H.E. Dr. Ahmadzai to Japan

December 20-21, 2011: Ambassador H.E. Dr. Sayed M. Amin Fatimie and the staff of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Tokyo welcomed with sincere warmth to Japan H.E. Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, Chairman of the Transition Coordination Commission, to Japan.

H.E. Dr. Ghani arrived in Japan on the evening of December 20th at the invitation of the Japan International Cooperation Agency. During his stay he is scheduled to meet with a number of important Japanese officials, including H.E. Minister of State for National Policy Motohisa Furukawa, President Sadako Ogata, Vice President Kiyoshi Kodera, and Director General Masataka Nakahara of JICA, H.E. Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Tadamichi Yamamoto, H.E. State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Tetsuro Fukuyama, H.E. Senior Vice Minister Ryuji Yamane, H.E. Vice Minister Kenichiro Sasae, Director General Kazuhiko Koshikawa, and Director General Shigeo Matsutomi of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, H.E. Deputy Minister Naoko Ishii of the Ministry of Finance, and Chairman Tetsuro Fukuyama of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense, among other key partners.

As part of his activities, H.E. Dr. Ahmadzai on the afternoon of the 21st gave a talk entitled “Transforming Afghanistan Beyond 2014” at JICA’s headquarters. The speech mainly discussed the successes up to this point within Afghanistan, and the opportunities and perceived challenges in preparing for 2014, which is considered a milestone year as all security in the nation will by then be Afghanized. In relation to this topic, H.E. Dr. Ahmadzai stated that militarily, the nation is actually ahead of schedule, therefore the challenges to create a successful state lie most in regional dynamics of security and resource sharing, and domestically in creating an appropriate balance between military and policing as well as in creating increased employment opportunities. Within the final issue, H.E. the Dr. discussed the importance of Japan engaging Afghanistan's private sector. The informative and enlightening speech was well received by those in attendance.