August 24, 2011

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on August 24 met with outgoing Egyptian Ambassador to Japan Walid Mahmoud Abdelnasser at the JCP head office.

Shii expressed his gratitude for the ambassador’s services in his four-year tenure and also thanked him for attending the World Conference against A & H Bombs for three consecutive years, saying that his participation encouraged Japan’s anti-nuclear movement.

When Shii mentioned that the conclusion of an international treaty banning nuclear weapons has become a focal issue for the international community, Abdelnasser said that it is vital to create a legally binding convention on prohibition of nuclear weapons. He asked Shii for JCP cooperation on an international conference to be held in 2012 with the aim of establishing a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East.

Shii said that the JCP welcomes the democratic changes taking place in the Middle Eastern countries, including Egypt. He expressed his hope that as the current chair of the Non-Aligned Movement and the next chair of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a newly reborn Egypt will play an active role in the international arena.

The ambassador in his reply said that new Egypt will play a further positive role in the global society. He also expressed hope that mutual exchanges and the relationship between the JCP and the Egyptian government will be strengthened.