Tokyo, Japan - To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the start of Japan’s Official Development Assistance, UPF-Japan organized the 22nd Peace Diplomats Forum.
Official Development Assistance, which began in 1954, is a part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs whose purpose is to provide aid to developing nations.
The forum, on the theme of “International Peace Cooperation and Human Resource Development,” was held on November 26, 2014. It was attended by more than 60 participants, including 27 senior diplomats from 24 embassies (of whom seven were ambassadors), two officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, five former ambassadors to foreign nations and a number of leaders from various fields.
The forum began with opening remarks from Dr. Eiji Tokuno, chair of UPF-Japan. Dr. Yong Cheon Song, regional chair of UPF-Japan, also welcomed the participants.
Quoting from the autobiography of UPF founder Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon, As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen, Dr. Song stated, “Unless we can solve the starvation or food problems, we cannot build an ideal world of peace.” Dr. Song said he admires the work of Japan’s development assistance in developing nations and that he expected the forum to create another starting point of more effective overseas development assistance for world peace and prosperity.
Professor Tsuneo Sugishita, president of the Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development, gave the keynote address, in which he explained the new Overseas Development Assistance charter. He has researched more than 1,000 of Japan’s development projects in the world as a journalist and researcher.
At the end of the program, Dr. Song and Dr. Tokuno awarded certificates to four new Ambassadors for Peace.