On August 29, for about 20 minutes commencing at 9:40 a.m., in Yokohama, Mr. Kono Taro, Minister for Foreign Affairs, held a Foreign Ministers’ meeting with H. E. Dr. Unity Dow, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Botswana. The overview of the meeting is as follows. Minister Dow is visiting Japan to attend the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) held from August 28 to 30.

1. At the outset, Minister Kono stated that he welcomed the opportunity to meet Minister Dow again since their last meeting in October, and he hoped to make TICAD7 successful and further strengthen the ties between the two countries, working together with Minister Dow. In response, Minister Dow said that she was pleased to participate in TICAD7 and expressed strong expectation for more entry of Japanese companies to Botswana.
2. Following that, Minister Kono expressed expectation for the further improvement of investment environment in Botswana, and announced Japan’s intention to support Botswana in expanding the use of the Japanese system of the digital terrestrial broadcasting that Botswana has adopted. Furthermore, Minister Kono stated that Japan wishes to promote cooperation in the field of mineral resources through the activities of Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) and to contribute to the human resources development in Botswana. In response, Minister Dow expressed appreciation to Japan’s assistance and her hopes for more investment from Japanese business to Botswana in the future by development of people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, including through human resources development programs.
3. The two ministers also exchanged views regarding cooperation in the international arena, including UN Security Council reform.