The Foreign Ministry plans to invite about 20 Iraqi diplomats to Tokyo for training, possibly in September.
They will be the first batch of officials from the Iraqi Foreign Ministry participating in training courses conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, ministry sources said Thursday.
Japanese academics and diplomats are expected to give lectures to the Iraqis on international laws and treaties, such as those related to the World Trade Organization and basic diplomatic protocol.
JICA hopes the training program will start in mid-September and will run for several months. The project itself will continue for about five years, the sources said.
The project to train Iraqi government officials will represent a third pillar of Japan's assistance for Iraqi reconstruction, coming in the wake of the dispatch of Self-Defense Forces troops there and a financial aid pledge for Baghdad. Iraq is running short of experienced officials due to the purges affiliated with the Ba'ath party loyal to deposed President Saddam Hussein.