Director General Saigo, Dr. David Bergvinson, Professor Maeda, excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of the United Nations University, I am very pleased to welcome you to this International Symposium. This conference is aimed to address sustainable development through enhancing food security by promoting the production of legumes. I am also very delighted to take this opportunity to celebrate the International Year of Pulses 2016.

In this symposium, we will revisit the value and deepen our understanding of leguminous crops in a wide range of perspectives through today’s discussions.

As Dr. Iwanaga and Director General Saigo have already mentioned, last year, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals or the so-called SDGs. The international community has already started working efforts to address these goals, including those on food security.

Our institute, the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability, is the leading research and teaching institute. It is our mission to advance efforts toward a more sustainable future through relevant policy, relevant research and capacity building development activities, focused on sustainability in three thematic areas namely sustainable societies, natural capital and biodiversity, and global change and resilience.

In light of this, I am very much looking forward to having dynamic discussions here today. We are very fortunate to have Dr. David Bergvinson and Professor Maeda here as the keynote speakers in this symposium. We expect professional and insightful input from these international experts.

Finally, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to conclude my remarks by wishing you a fruitful symposium as a very good start to further develop technologies for sustainable agriculture, forestry, and fisheries with your active participation. Thank you and welcome. Thank you very much.