The Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Sara Beysolow Nyanti, and Japan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kamikama Yoko, engaged in a significant bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD).
During the meeting, Foreign Minister Nyanti extended warm greetings from President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., and the people of Liberia, expressing heartfelt appreciation to the government and people of Japan for hosting the Ministerial Meeting of TICAD.
Foreign Minister Nyanti expressed gratitude for Japan’s on-going development assistance to Liberia, highlighting major projects such as the Japan Freeway and Japan’s commitment to rehabilitating and expanding the Gabriel Tucker Bridge to the Freeport’s road corridor.
She also acknowledged Japan’s contributions through the Japan Rice Monetization Program, various human capacity development initiatives, and other crucial bilateral aid programs facilitated by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
In a gesture of continued collaboration, Foreign Minister Nyanti presented a bilateral note from the Government of Liberia (GOL) to Japan. This note, received by Minister Kamikama, outlined key areas for Japan’s development assistance to Liberia over the years to come.
These priority areas include the rehabilitation and expansion of the Gabriel Tucker Bridge to the Freeport road corridor, and the construction of the Japan Village and market buildings.
The bilateral note also underscored the importance of support in solar energy for critical public institutions, access to safe drinking water, infrastructure development, and human capacity-building opportunities, particularly aimed at empowering women and youth in Liberia.
In conclusion, Foreign Minister Nyanti reaffirmed Liberia’s commitment to working closely with Japan on global, multilateral, and bilateral issues of shared values and principles.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Kamikawa congratulated Minister Nyanti on her appointment as Foreign Minister, and expressed her appreciation for Foreign Minister Nyanti’s participation in TICAD Ministerial Meeting, highlighting Japan’s projects in Liberia as symbols of the strong relationship between the two countries.
She reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to continued cooperation, particularly in transportation infrastructure, which she noted as critical to Liberia’s development.
Foreign Minister Kamikama also commended the people of Liberia for maintaining peace and successfully conducting three elections, describing Liberia as a beacon of hope for democracy in Africa.
Foreign Minister Kamikawa expressed Japan’s intention to contribute to Liberia’s nation-building through quintessentially Japanese cooperation, including quality infrastructure, universal health coverage (UHC), and women, peace and security (WPS), and stated that she would like to further deepen cooperation in the international arena with Liberia, which shares common fundamental values and principles such as democracy and the rule of law.
The two ministers confirmed that they would work together towards solving development issues of Liberia, including through quality infrastructure development. In addition, Minister Kamikawa asked Minister Nyanti for her cooperation in promoting WPS in Africa.
The two ministers confirmed that they would further develop Japan-Liberia relations towards TICAD 9 in the coming year.