The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives, H.E. Mr. Ahmed Naseem, arrived in Tokyo on a three-day visit on 16 January 2012.

During the first day of his visit, Minister Naseem, met with Hon. Shu Watanabe, Senior Vice Minister for Defense, Hon. Nobutaka Tsutsui, Senior Vice Minister for Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries, Hon. Chinami Nishimura from the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and attended a luncheon hosted in his honour by the Japan- Maldives Parliamentarians Friendship League. Vice President of JICA Mr. Hiroyo Sasaki also had a meeting with the Minister.

During these official meetings, Foreign Minister Naseem held discussions on further strengthening the most cordial relations of friendship and cooperation that exists between the two countries.

This afternoon, Minister Naseem met with the senior management of the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) and discussed ways to promote the Maldives in Japan. JATA held its Board Meeting in the Maldives in November 2011 and is currently working on a plan to promote the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

Foreign Minister Naseem also had a a meeting  with Mr. Takeshi Kobayashi, a renounced Japanese music producer and the Founder of AP Bank.  Mr. Kobayashi is best known for his work with the popular band “Mr. Children,” and he is also well known for his work to protect the global environment.

Minister Naseem ended his first day with a lecture at the United Nations University in Tokyo. The topic of the lecture was “2012 – A determining year for Islamic Democracy.”