On 14 June 2018, the Government of Japan (GoJ) representatives from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT) participated in the Annual Review Meeting of “Japanese Funds-in-Trust (JFIT) for Scientific Programmes on Global Challenges in Asia and the Pacific Region”.

UNESCO has enjoyed a long-standing and solid cooperation with the GoJ through the JFIT since 1969. Among the various series of JFIT covering all the fields of UNESCO, MEXT has been supporting the Natural Sciences activities in Asia and the Pacific region for more than 40 years.

On 14 June 2018, the Annual Review Meeting of the Japanese Funds-in-Trust for Scientific Programmes on Global Challenges in Asia and the Pacific Region was held in UNESCO Headquarter in Paris. Participants from MEXT, the Permanent Delegation of Japan to UNESCO, and the Embassy of Japan, UNESCO Jakarta, IOC/WESTPAC Secretariat, and the relevant divisions from UNESCO Headquarters took part in the meeting.

Opened by Mr. Shahbaz Khan (Director and Representative of UNESCO Jakarta), Mr. Koji Kitayama (Minister and Deputy Permanent Delegate of Japan to UNESCO), and Ms. Eri Hata (Assistant Director-General for International Affairs of MEXT/ Assistant Secretary-General of the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO), the meeting reviewed the progress of ongoing projects and discussed on post-2019 direction.

The discussion focused on the post-2019 JFIT strategy, highlighting the contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 2030 Agenda, Science Policy Interface, and the creation of synergies among different programmes. UNESCO Jakarta and colleagues continues discussion with MEXT towards the Annual Review Meeting (Part 2), planned to be held in September 2018.