Conveyance of Certificates of Commendation to members of the Australian Defence Force that co-operated in activities with the Japanese Self-Defence Force as part of UN peace-keeping duties in South Sudan

On the 29^th of March, Ambassador Kusaka invited Department of Defence and Chief of the Defence Force representative Major General John Frewen to his official residence to bear witness to the conveyance of Certificates of Commendation on behalf of Admiral Katsutoshi Kawano, Chief of Staff, Joint Staff, to Lieutenant Colonel James Brownlie, Flight Lieutenant Ian Gargano, and Corporal Jason Buckley for their exemplary service in co-operation with the Japanese Self-Defence Force as part of the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS). 
In his speech at the outset of the conveyance ceremony,  Ambassador Kusaka, as the representative of the Government of Japan, both expressed his admiration for the 3 staff members that supported the Self Defence Force’s activities and stated his desire for the continued co-operation between Japan and Australia within the UNMISS.
Ambassador Kusaka then read out the content of each certificate to its respective recipient. After the certificates were presented, Chief of the Defence Force representative Major General Frewen gave a speech. In his speech, Major General Frewen stated that in the past, the ADF and SDF had built their co-operative relationship during PKO duties in East Timor and reconstruction assistance activities in Iraq.  He said that it was through the activities of UNMISS that the mutually co-operative relationship had been further deepened and was growing closer.
At the official lunch hosted by Ambassador Kusaka following the conveyance ceremony, topics such as the ADF’s assistance during the Great East Japan Earthquake, recent highly active Japan-Australia joint training exercises, and the defence equipment of Japan and Australia were raised in an atmosphere of awareness of the deepening in recent Japan-Australia co-operation.