On September 18, H.E. Mr. Ritter Diaz, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Panama to Japan, and Ms. Georgette Constantino Aixpurua, Third Secretary, visited MIF and had a very constructive meeting with Prof. Toshiaki HASHIMOTO, MIF’s Chairperson, and Prof. Keiichi KATAYAMA, Executive Director. MIF has ever invited 2 fellows from Panama but none since 2004. We discussed how we can increase the number of applicants from the country and both Ambassador Diaz and Prof. Hashimoto agreed to further strengthen the relationship between the embassy and MIF.