Konnichiwa Japan!

As Moslems around the globe  celebrated Eid Al Mubarak, Japan’s hospitality welcomed our UCLG ASPAC Secretary General in their two vibrant cities, Tokyo and Hamamatsu.

In the capital, UCLG ASPAC Secretary General.Bernadia  greeted the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR) and had a promising discussion upon prospective cooperation between the two. Both are very optimistic in the development of Asia-Pacific region. For CLAIR in Tokyo, having UCLG-ASPAC members to participate “Local Government Overseas Training Programme” (LGOTP) will bring mutual benefit to the two bodies. Accordingly, CLAIR will encourage Local Governments in Japan to expand the programme to members of UCLG ASPAC.

Our Secretary General  also visited the city of Hamamatsu. Considering this UCLG-ASPAC’s member as one of the Prominents,Bernadia emphasized the importance of expanding partnerships to different stakeholders, including private companies, research institutions and universities in Japan.

Indeed, Hamamatsu is not only well-known for its Yamaha music company, its cordiality is also salient. For the second time, UCLG ASPAC Secretary  General expressed her appreciation to the offer made by the city to host the 2014 Executive Bureau (ExBu) Meeting in spring. At the same time, she assured that decision related to hosting will be made on the next ExBu in November. Hamamatsu hosted the 2010 UCLG ASPAC Congress.

Both courtesy visits implied the prospective partnership that UCLG ASPAC and local governances in Japan can build, including the dispatch of city officials to the UCLG Secretariat in Jakarta.

More images of these visits can be found at photo gallery section