THE GOVERNMENT’S BILATERAL relationship with the government of Japan remains critical to the development needs of the government and people of Liberia, particularly the development agenda of the George Weah administration, “Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD)”. The Government of Japan is financing a number of economic recovery projects under its KR Food Aid and Non-Project Grant Aid Programs, which include the construction of bridges in Deah, Tallah and Kaylia, Grand Cape Mount; the construction of warehouses in Nimba, Bong and Lofa counties to address the perennial post-harvest storage challenges; the construction of 240 local housing units in Sasstown, Grand Kru County; the construction of Gorbarchop Market at the Omega Village Community and the on-going Duala Market Project; the opening of alleys along the Robertsfield Highway under the CIDP by the Ministry of Public Works; the Small Medium Enterprise development project at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry as well as the Human Capacity Building Project at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
FURTHER, THE JAPANESE government Value Funded Projects in Liberia is the driver of the development effort, the Somalia Drive Highway, which is expected to be renamed “Japan Highway”. Japan also supports the Ministry of Health in building a resilient heath sector, and provided 400 out boat motor engines to National Aquaculture and Fisheries Authority (NaAFA).
SUCH IS THE pervasive presence of the Japanese government in the socio-economic development needs of the Liberian people. Hence, the arrival of the Ambassador of Japan to Liberia, His Excellency Himeno Tsutomu, for a five-day visit beginning Monday, March 1, 2021, and ending Friday, March 5, 2021, is both anticipated and welcomed. The Japanese Ambassador accredited to this capital is expected to meet with President Dr. George Manneh Weah, and an array of other government officials.
ACCORDING TO A Foreign Ministry release, Ambassador Himeno’s visit is in two-fold: conferring with President Weah on a number of diplomatic matters and Japan’s possible development cooperation projects, as well as visiting the Japanese Counterpart Value Funded Projects in Liberia.