Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Participants from the Eighth Dialogue on Countering Violent Extremism in the Middle East on Friday paid a courtesy call on Japanese Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs MATSUMOTO Hisashi, who stated that Japan shares with Islam a spirit that emphasizes “tolerance.”

According to the Foreign Ministry, Matsumoto said that Japan hopes to take advantage of the longstanding good relations with various countries in the Middle East to continue contributing to peace and prosperity in the region, as well as the broader international community, including through countering violent extremism.

The participants expressed their thanks for being invited to Japan and said they would utilize the knowledge acquired through their visit. They also voiced expectations for Japan to play a role in countering violent extremism.

The Dialogue on Countering Violent Extremism in the Middle East is a Japan-sponsored forum that invites experts and specialists in countering violent extremism from the Middle East to Japan every year to exchange views with officials from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and various experts.

The participants who made the courtesy call were: Rehaam Abdullah Salama, Director of the Al-Azhar Observatory for Countering Extremism (Egypt); Haymen Namik Jameel, Director General of the Ministry of Interior, Kurdistan Regional Government (Iraq); Associate Professor, Dean of the Department of Comparative Religion, International University of Islamic Studies, Masoud Shavarani (Iran); Associate Professor, Institute of Women’s Studies, University of Jordan (Jordan); Hattem Shatnawi, Hedaya Centre Programme Manager (UAE).