JICA President Akihiko Tanaka visited the Federal Republic of Brazil, the Republic of Paraguay, and the Republic of Panama from May 2 to 8.
We accompanied Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to Brazil and Paraguay as a member of his economic mission to South America. In Brazil, in the presence of Prime Minister Kishida and President Lula, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the fields of agriculture and climate change. In Paraguay, in the presence of Prime Minister Kishida and President Pena, they announced a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of space development. In addition, together with Prime Minister Kishida, they participated in Nikkei related events and round-table meetings with Nikkei organizations, and confirmed the importance of human exchange between Latin American and Japanese communities and Japan in order to promote further cooperation with Nikkei communities in both countries.
In Panama, which he visited later, he observed cooperative projects in infectious disease control and urban transportation, and met with government officials of Panama.
- federal republic of brazil
On May 3, Prime Minister Kishida and President Lula launched the “Brazil-Japan Partnership on Environment, Climate, Sustainable Development and a Robust Economy. Based on this, President Tanaka, Minister of Agriculture Favaro, Minister of Agricultural Development and Family Farming Teixeira, and President Masluch Agro-Pastoral Research Corporation signed the Memorandum of Cooperation for the National Plan for the Conversion of Degraded Pastures to Sustainable Agricultural Production and Forests promoted by the Brazilian government.
Scene of the MOU signing ceremony (Source: Prime Minister’s Office website)
We also participated in a round-table meeting between Prime Minister Kishida and 12 Japanese American organizations in the Federal District of Brasilia, the State of Goias, and the State of Tocantins, where we confirmed the importance of cooperation with the Japanese American community in areas such as Japanese language education and entrepreneurial activities.
On May 4, in Sao Paulo, I participated in government events such as the welcoming ceremony for Prime Minister Kishida at the Brazilian Association of Japanese Culture and Welfare, the dedication of the Cenotaph for the Pioneer Dead, and the Latin American policy speech, and reaffirmed the importance of partnership with Brazil, which has the largest Nikkei community in the world. Prime Minister Kishida announced a policy to realize a human resource exchange of 1,000 people between Japan and Latin American Nikkei communities over the next three years, and JICA plans to contribute to the revitalization of human resource exchange through the “Unity for the Future” program launched on February 29 this year with Brazilian Nikkei organizations.
Prime Minister Kishida’s policy speech on Latin America at the University of Sao Paulo (Source: Prime Minister’s Office website)
In the evening of the same day, the mission members and the economic mission members participated in the “Japan-Brazil Business Forum” and confirmed their commitment to strengthening economic ties between the two countries in the private sector.
- Republic of Paraguay
On the afternoon of May 3, Prime Minister Kishida visited Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, and signed a memorandum of understanding with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Paraguayan Space Agency to confirm cooperation in space development through industry-government-academia collaboration between Japan and Paraguay. The MOU promotes the “Japan-Paraguay Space Cooperation Program,” which was introduced in a joint press statement by Prime Minister Kishida and President Peña on the same day.
Scene from the MOU announcement ceremony (Source: Prime Minister’s Office website)
In addition, Chancellor Tanaka, along with JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers and JICA experts working in Paraguay, attended a meeting organized by the Japanese government with Nikkei, a community of 10,000 people of Japanese descent that has become a symbol of the friendly relationship between Japan and Paraguay.
- Republic of Panama
After accompanying Prime Minister Kishida on his visit to South America, I visited Panama City, the capital of Panama, on May 6. At the construction site of the Panama Metropolitan Area Urban Transit Line 3 (Panama Metro Line 3), which is under construction with yen loans, they visited the rail yard where the railcars transferred from Japan are stored and the monorail line. They also visited the Panama Canal, a key point of international logistics that has been affected by drought. In addition, they exchanged views with Mr. Alexander, Minister of Economy and Finance, and Mr. Otero, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs.
© Source JICA
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