YAPONİYA-AZƏRBAYCAN İKİTƏRƏFLİ MÜNASİBƏTLƏRİ

(1) In the last decade of the 20th century, the world was shaken by major upheavals such as the end of the Cold War regime, acceleration of economic globalization, and revolutionary advances in information technology. With the international community facing new waves of change in the 21st century, interdependence between countries can only continue to increase. To address the many growing problems that transcend national boundaries – security issues, terrorism, economic issues, environmental degradation, illegal drugs, refugees, etc. – the extensive cooperation of all countries involved is becoming increasingly critical. While effectively addressing those problems deriving from the changes taking place, Japan's foreign policy in the new century seeks to actively promote the security and prosperity of the entire international community, in the recognition that this is inseparable from the security and prosperity of Japan itself. (2) Since its admission to the United Nations in 1956, Japan has regarded its commitment to the United Nations as one of the main pillars of its foreign policy, and has been contributing to the UN budget for 19.5%, next to the US which has the largest shares of 22 % of the total budget. Japan has been working for the international peace and security. It works for resolution of regional disputes through personnel and financial support provided to United Nations peacekeeping operations and other international efforts. It is actively supporting international endeavors for conflict prevention and active promotion of arms control and non-proliferation, and fight against terrorism and to solve problems in areas such as environmental degradation, illegal drugs, and population growth as well. (3) The significance of economic issues as a component of international relations has also been increased in recent years, making a global economic stability a critical issue in Japanese diplomacy. Recognizing the responsibilities of a country as a world's second largest economy, Japan has been making sincere efforts to promote healthy economic development worldwide through bilateral relations as well as its relation with international organizations such as the IMF, the WTO, and the OECD. Japan has also been providing financial and technical assistance to developing countries via official development assistance (ODA) program in order to contribute to their economic development as well as improvement of people's welfare. Japan was the world's largest aid donor all through 1990s, and now the second largest global donor in 2005 just next to the US.