Spain-Japan Forum will address both countries role in favour of peace and stability

Eduardo González The Japanese town of Takamatsu, capital of the Japanese prefecture of Kagawa, is hosting, from this Tuesday until Thursday, the twenty-fourth edition of the Spain-Japan Forum, which will address issues such as the role that the two countries can play "for peace and international stability", business cooperation between Japan and Spain in the global market and cultural, artistic and architectural exchange. The Forum, the main platform for dialogue between representatives of civil society and the Administration of Spain and Japan, is jointly organised by the Spain-Japan Council Foundation and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of both countries. It has been held annually since 1997, alternating between Japan and Spain, around an agenda of strategic issues for bilateral relations. This is the first time that the main public diplomacy event between the two countries has travelled to Shikoku, the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. The Forum will officially begin today, Tuesday, but the activities themselves will take place on Wednesday. The other two days will be dedicated to welcome events, excursions and other more recreational activities. Wednesday's session will begin with an opening ceremony attended by representatives of the Government of Japan (to be confirmed), the Secretary of State for Foreign and Global Affairs, Diego Martínez Belío; the president of the Spain-Japan Council Foundation, Ángeles Delgado; the governor of the Prefecture of Kagawa, Toyohito Ikeda; Takamatsu Mayor Hideto Onishi and other local representatives. The first debate session will then be held, entitled “Initiatives for international peace and stability” and which will address, among other points, the extent to which Spain and Japan can influence and cooperate to involve the so-called Global South in various areas, such as politics, security, economy and public diplomacy. The starting point of this debate is the increase in global instability due to Russian aggression against Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East and the need to “guarantee peace and stability in the international community and create an environment conducive to economic prosperity” at a time when, “unlike what happened in the nineties, when this forum was created, the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security environments are completely inseparable,” according to the program provided by sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to The Diplomat. The second session will be dedicated to “business cooperation between Japan and Spain in the global market.” According to the organizers, “given the current international situation, it is necessary for Japan and Spain to deepen their cooperation on economic security issues” and to redouble “their efforts to promote trade and investment between the two countries” through “cooperation between companies from both countries in the global market using all possible tools.” The debates will focus on the green sector and the infrastructure sector, a promising area for collaboration between Japanese and Spanish companies. The third and final session will be dedicated to cultural, artistic and architectural exchange between Spain and Japan, taking advantage of the fact that “in Kagawa Prefecture, the venue of the Forum, there are many contemporary works of art scattered across the islands of the Seto Inland Sea, as well as numerous buildings designed by famous architects.” During the debate, “the possibilities of further expanding the exchange between the two countries through art and architecture” will be explored. The Spain-Japan Council Foundation Award will be announced later and the closing ceremony will be held, with the participation of Yoshio Sato, president of the Japanese part of the Forum (and former president of the European Regional Committee of Keidanren and special advisor to Sumitomo Life Insurance Company) and Ángeles Delgado. The twenty-third edition of the Forum, which was held in Salamanca between 28 and 30 November 2023, was the first without the former Minister of Foreign Affairs Josep Piqué, who co-chaired this dialogue instrument between 2010 and 2022. In October 2022, just a few months before his death, he handed over the Spanish co-presidency to Ángeles Delgado, CEO of Fujitsu in Spain and president of the Spain-Japan Council Foundation.

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