Okada to head to N.Y. on Thursday for UNSC peace-building debate+

TOKYO, April 14 Kyodo -
Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada will make a three-day visit to New York
from Thursday to chair a U.N. Security Council debate on peace building in
post-conflict countries, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
The open debate on Friday morning will be chaired by Japan as the current
rotating president of the 15-member U.N. Security Council. The meeting will be
attended by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai
Rassoul and ministers from countries known for their peace-building efforts --
East Timor and Sierra Leone as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina.
It will be the first time that a Japanese foreign minister attends a U.N.
Security Council meeting as chair, according to a ministry official. Japan is
currently a nonpermanent member of the council.
A presidential statement is expected to be issued following the meeting, the
official said.
Arrangements are also under way for Okada to hold bilateral talks on Friday
afternoon with the Afghan foreign minister and his Bosnia and Herzegovina
counterpart Sven Alkalaj.
During the debate, participants will discuss how to achieve political and
social stability as well as security to prevent the recurrence of conflicts.
Okada is expected to stress the importance of providing ''seamless''
assistance, starting with humanitarian aid during a conflict, peacekeeping
operations in its aftermath and then assistance for nation-building, the
official said.
Japan also believes the international community should work out a comprehensive
strategy to provide such assistance and that dealing with youth employment
problems is important as part of efforts to bring stability to post-conflict
countries.
The session will also be attended by Managing Director of the World Bank Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, a former Nigerian foreign minister.
The presidency of the U.N. Security Council is held on a rotating basis by
council members for one calendar month. U.N. Security Council presidents often
choose to hold open debates on topics that are high on the diplomatic agendas
of their countries, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry's press release.
==Kyodo