GRIPS and European Institute of Japanese Studies (EIJS) in Sweden co-hosted a webinar on foreign policy on November 30, 2022, with the generous support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. The webinar, which attracted about 20 participants, was moderated by Prof. Marie S?derberg, former Director of EIJS.

GRIPS Prof. Izumi Ohno gave a presentation entitled, “Japanese Development Cooperation in a Changing World” in which she discussed the recent trends of Japan’s development cooperation under a complex global environment faced with multiple crises and the importance of human security. Following Prof. Ohno’s lecture, Dr. Lisa Román of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) gave a presentation entitled, “Swedish Development Cooperation. Historic context and current trends” in which she explained the history and recent trends of Sweden’s development cooperation policy.

During the discussion session, various opinions were exchanged such as the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on development cooperation policies, Japan’s engagement in Africa, and Japan-EU development cooperation.