Keynote speakers at the symposium will be Ryutaro Hashimoto, former Prime Minister of Japan, who will speak on the topic of "Mutual Understanding between Japan and Arabs," and Amre Moussa, Secretary General of the League of the Arab States, who will address the issues of "Reform in the Arab World and Relations with Japan." The keynote speeches will be preceded by remarks from Hans van Ginkel, UNU Rector; Rachad Farah, Dean of the Arab Diplomatic Corps; and a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Concluding remarks will be delivered by Yuriko Koike, Minister of the Environment, Japan.

Keynote speaker Amre Moussa has served as Secretary General of the League of Arab States since May 2001. He previously held a variety of positions within the Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including serving as Ambassador to India, Permanent Representative to the United Nations (1990-91), and Minister of Foreign Affairs (1991-2001). Mr. Moussa has actively supported a process of reform for the Arab States and promoted dialogue with the rest of the world.

Keynote speaker Ryutaro Hashimoto has served in numerous positions in the Government of Japan, including as Minister of Health and Welfare, Transport, Finance, and International Trade and Industry. He became the leader of Liberal Democratic Party in 1995, and served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1996 to 1998. Mr. Hashimoto has long been active in enhancing relations between Japan and the Arab States.

The 2004 Japan-Arab Friendship Day Symposium will begin at 10 AM on 6 April in the U Thant International Conference Hall of UN House. Simultaneous Japanese-English interpretation will be provided. The symposium is open to the public, but advance registration (by 31 March) is required. A registration reply sheet can be downloaded from http://archive.unu.edu/news/arabday/2004reply.doc.

A programme is available online at http://archive.unu.edu/news/arabday/2004prog.doc. Media representatives are cordially invited to attend. For those unable to attend, the symposium will be "webcast" live (and archived) at http://c3.unu.edu/unuvideo/index.cfm?fuseaction=event.home&EventID=33.