Reminiscing about a foundational moment
His signature is at the bottom of ITER’s founding document, the ITER Agreement. For a few moments last week, during a visit with ITER Director-General Pietro Barabaschi in Tokyo, Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya reminisced about that day in Paris nearly 20 years ago.
The from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA) was dated 17 November 2006. “Mr. Takeshi Iwaya, Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, will visit France from November 20 to November 21 to attend the signing ceremony for the Agreement on the Establishment of the ITER International Fusion Energy Organization for the Joint Implementation of the ITER Project (Joint Implementation Agreement) which will be held on November 21 in Paris.”
The gathering of all ITER Members for the signature of the ITER Agreement had been made possible by the decision made, approximately one year earlier, to site the project in France. In a ceremony hosted at Elysée Palace by French President Jacques Chirac and the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso, representatives from each ITER Member signed the 34-page Agreement (including annexes) that outlined the ITER Organization's purpose and functions.
Last week, after attending Fusion Energy Day at the Osaka World Expo, ITER Director-General Pietro Barabaschi made a courtesy visit to Minister Iwaya in Tokyo. He was able to report on the enthusiasm that had characterized the event, and the broad attendance of ITER Member delegations, Japanese officials, and representatives of national research institutes, industry partners, universities and the general public.
Minister Iwaya shared his memories of the 2006 signing ceremony in France and expressed his expectations for the smooth progress of the project and the development of fusion energy.
Director-General Barabaschi updated the Minister on the latest news from ITER and project status and expressed his appreciation for Japan’s consistent contribution to ITER and the ongoing support of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
See in the Japanese press about the visit.