tokyo seminar to address role of economic cooperation, civil society

 

initiatives in promoting israeli-palestinian peace, 26-27 june

A United Nations-organized media seminar will address the latest situation in the Middle East and discuss ways to re-engage the Israelis and Palestinians in the search for a comprehensive and lasting political settlement.

Approximately 100 participants, including 11 Israelis and 12 Palestinians, are expected to attend.  They will discuss not only the political situation but also prospects for regional economic cooperation and civil society initiatives to promote Israeli-Palestinian dialogue and cooperation.

The seminar, entitled “The International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East”, is the fifteenth in a series organized by the Department of Public Information.  The Tokyo event is organized in cooperation with Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations University, and will take place at the United Nations House, the institution’s Headquarters, on 26 and 27 June. 

From the host country, Foreign Minister Taro Aso will address the opening session.  The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Public Information and Communication, Kiyo Akasaka, will read a message from the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.  The Rector of the United Nations University, Hans van Ginkel, will also welcome the participants.

Israeli participants include two members of the Knesset, Ronit Tirosh and Avishai Braverman, the Mayors of Ashdod and Hadera and a former Mayor of Ashkelon.  Palestinian participants include a former Minister of Culture, Almutawakel Nazzal, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, the current Palestinian and the Mayor of Ramallah.  Representatives of labour unions and humanitarian organizations will also attend, along with academics and journalists.

The representative of the Government of Japan for the Middle East Peace Process, Tatsuo Arima, will lead a discussion on regional economic cooperation in the Middle East.  The Chairman of the Steering Committee of Civil Society Initiative, Professor Ilan Juran of the Polytechnic University in New York, will present a review of the Israeli-Palestinian civil society cooperation initiated at last year’s seminar in Moscow.

For further information, contact Hiro Ueki, e-mail: ueki@un.org, or Charmine Koda, e-mail: koda@untokyo.jp.

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For information media • not an official record