[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the 1st meeting of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Promotion Headquarters at the Prime Minister's Office.

During the meeting, discussion took place on the establishment of guidelines for Japan’s implementation of SDGs.

Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister made the following remarks,

“Unlike their predecessors, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are common global goals that are shared by all countries, including developed countries. Bearing this in mind, we have launched in Japan the SDGs Promotion Headquarters, for which I will serve as Chair, and I have directed the Headquarters to compile implementation guidelines for the Government of Japan.

Sustainable development will also be an important subject for discussion at the Ise-Shima Summit. In order to encourage the leaders of each G7 member country to take proactive measures for SDGs, as the Chair, Japan has decided on the following contributory measures.

The first is women’s participation in developing countries. To achieve this, based on our newly determined development strategy, over the next three years, we will strive to foster the appointment of 5,000 women as administrative officers and in other similar positions, and improvement of the learning environment for 50,000 girls.

Furthermore, in regard to international healthcare, we plan to provide 1.1 billion dollars in support to the Global Fund, the WHO, the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEF) of the World Bank, and other bodies, in order to achieve public hygiene risk management, measures in response to infectious diseases, and universal health coverage.

For the social stability and inclusive growth of the Middle East area, which is facing a serious humanitarian crisis, including many refugees, for a three-year period starting this year, we will provide support to the extent of approximately 6 billion dollars, including for the fostering of approximately 20,000 individuals as human resources. At the same time, we will expand opportunities for young Syrians to come to Japan to study, and I would also like to dispatch experts from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to help provide on-site support for refugees.

Based on the fruits of the G7 Ise-Shima Summit, and towards the Tokyo International Conference of Africa's Development (TICAD), which will be held in Africa for the first time this August, and the General Assembly of the United Nations in September, I would like to request all relevant ministers to closely collaborate, and the Government to work as one, to implement initiatives in which Japan leads the world in SDG-related measures.”