Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon agreed Saturday to continue their cooperation in efforts to map out a post-2015 development agenda and address climate change ahead of crucial meetings on these issues this year, officials said.
Meeting in Sendai before the start of the U.N. World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, Abe and Ban also agreed to cooperate in dealing with "violent extremism and addressing the threat posed by (Islamic State militant group) Daesh," according to a press release from Ban.
In drafting the agenda, Abe was quoted by the officials as telling Ban that Japan will "play a proactive role" and Ban expressed his intent to hold a summit-level meeting in New York in September to that end, and invited Abe to attend.
The agenda is aimed at building upon the U.N. Millennium Development Goals, which laid out eight objectives to be achieved by 2015, including eradicating extreme poverty and combating diseases such as HIV/AIDS.
In discussing climate change, Abe said Japan will contribute in adopting a fair and effective framework, which includes all countries, at the Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) to be held in Paris at the end of the year. Ban thanked Japan for its support so far in this area, the officials said
With this year marking the 70th anniversary since the founding of the United Nations, Abe also said it is "extremely important to come up with a tangible progress" in reforms of the U.N. Security Council.
Abe and Ban last held a meeting in September in New York.