MANILA, Philippines - Representatives of the Japanese government and the International Monitoring Team (IMT) have met to discuss the security situation in Mindanao and the issue of internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Japanese Deputy Chief of Mission Minister Motohiko Kato recently visited the IMT headquarters in Cotabato and met with Mgen Datuk Baharom Bin Hamzah, Head of IMT. Yusuke Mori, an IMT member dispatched by the government of Japan, also attended the meeting that raised the IMT operation.
The Japanese government decided to redeploy two development experts, Tomonori Kikuchi, First Secretary and Yusuke Mori, Second Secretary, to the IMT, which resumed its operations last February 2010.
Both experts are expected to contribute to the socio-economic development aspect of the IMT, including the assessment of the needs for the reconstruction and development, the monitor of development projects in the former conflict-affected areas, and the formulation of a comprehensive development plan.