On 20th May, the 57th Open Regular Dialog on GII/IDI was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). Six representatives from MOFA and 20 from NGOs attended.

IDI

MOFA updated the group on the achievements of the Japanese government towards IDI, explaining that by the end of fiscal year (FY) 2002, $2.4 billion had been spent, close to the commitment of $3 billion over five years to the end of FY 2004.

AIDS conference

The 15th International AIDS Conference will be held from 11th to 16th July in Bangkok, with over 20,000 GO and NGO representatives expected to attend. MOFA stated that a lot is expected of Japan as a major donor nation, and that on 15th July, Japan will host a satellite symposium on the theme of Human Security and HIV/AIDS.

Two NGOs from the GII/ IDI group, JOICFP and HANDS, will participate in the conference as members of the Japanese delegation and provide necessary support with booths etc.

Common Agenda

Started in 1993, the U.S.-Japan Common Agenda for Cooperation in Global Perspective (Common Agenda) is changing its approach to meet new demands.
MOFA explained that sending large project formulation missions that prioritized country-level approaches, had been less effective than desired. Therefore, a new approach that better reflected opinions from the field and considered small-scale missions and approaches was being taken. So far, missions have visited Bolivia, Honduras, Nepal and Nigeria.

View from NGOs

Sumie Ishii, Executive Director, JOICFP, reported to the GII/IDI meeting about the 'Sub-committee on International NGOs', chaired by LDP parliamentarians, on 13th May. At the Sub-committee, three NGOs from GII/ IDI group - JOICFP, HANDS, and SHARE - presented their activities to meet the needs in the field and suggested the following points be improved within ODA schemes:
1) Linkage between the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGOs and Grant Assistance for Grassroots Projects
2) Approval process of project proposals
3) Recognition of the expertise of NGOs

Further discussions on this matter are expected between NGO and government representatives.