JICA President Akihiko Tanaka visited the Democratic Republic of East Timor and the Republic of Indonesia from October 24 to November 2. In Timor-Leste, he met with President Ramos Horta, Prime Minister Shana Guzman, and other government officials, and participated in the completion event of the grant aid “Emergency Flood Damage Infrastructure Rehabilitation Project. In Indonesia, the group met with Mr. Airlangga, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, and other key government officials, and also held a meeting with the ASEAN Secretariat.
They also visited JICA project sites in both countries.
- East Timor
President Tanaka met with President Horta and mutually confirmed that the two countries would continue to cooperate as partners based on the trust built over many years of bilateral cooperation. They also exchanged views on future efforts toward Timor-Leste’s full membership in ASEAN. With Prime Minister Guzman, we exchanged views on development policies, including the new government’s new policies and challenges in the six key areas of the new administration.
With President Horta
With Prime Minister Guzman
In addition, President Tanaka attended and delivered a speech at the completion ceremony of the “Emergency Flood Damage Infrastructure Rehabilitation Project” in Brut, less than 90 km east of the capital. He said that this project symbolizes the concept of “Build Back Better,” which aims to reduce disaster risks in the post-disaster recovery and reconstruction process to create a more resilient society against disasters, and congratulated the completion of the project one year earlier than planned.
Furthermore, at the Faculty of Engineering of the National University of Timor-Leste, where cooperation has been ongoing since before the restoration of independence in 2002, we interacted with graduates who have obtained master’s and doctoral degrees in Japan through JICA cooperation and are now working in important positions in the government and university.
Flood Damage Infrastructure Emergency Rehabilitation Plan Completion Ceremony
Flood Damage Infrastructure Emergency Rehabilitation Plan Completion Ceremony
- Indonesia
In Indonesia, we met with Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga and other key government officials to explain the direction of JICA projects, request cooperation in promoting JICA projects, and exchange views on possible future cooperation.
MRT Train Depot Inspection
He and Minister Airlanga confirmed that the two countries will cooperate on the MRT North-South Line, which is currently being extended with a yen loan. The Minister expressed his hope that construction of the MRT East-West Line would begin as soon as possible and that the two countries would continue to work on important projects in the future.
In a meeting with Mr. Gobel, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, he expressed his expectations for JICA’s cooperation to promote increased investment from Japan. He also introduced the efforts to eradicate poverty by improving farmers’ income through business, using the example of cacao chocolate production in Gorontalo by a Japanese company with JICA’s cooperation.
During the meeting with Finance Minister Sri, the Minister requested continued support for infrastructure development, and also indicated the need for support for job creation, human resource development, renewable energy, and rural development. During the same meeting, a memorandum of understanding was signed between JICA and Indonesia Aid, which was established as Indonesia’s foreign aid agency, to strengthen the partnership between the two countries.
During the meeting with Minister Suharso, he expressed his expectations for the rapid formation of new yen loan projects, as well as expectations for investment from Japanese companies in the development of the new capital city, and also mentioned the promotion of cooperation toward 2045, the 100th anniversary of independence, with an awareness of eight transformations and 17 indicators for achieving these transformations. The participants also mentioned the following
Minister Basuki, Minister of Public Works and National Housing, expressed his appreciation for the dispatch of engineers from Japan for the development of dams and the new capital city in Indonesia, and Minister Budi, Minister of Transport, expressed his hope for the early realization of the MRT North-South and East-West lines and the Patimbang port.
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Gobel (second from right), Minister Basuki (second from left), Minister Budi (far left) with
With Minister Suhaso
Other activities included exchanges of views with officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat, and visits to the JICA-supported Jakarta MRT North-South Line and Darma Persada University, where JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers are currently on assignment.
In an exchange of views with ASEAN Secretariat officials, the participants expressed their appreciation for Japan-JICA’s past support to the ASEAN region on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation, and exchanged views on Japan-JICA cooperation with ASEAN with a view to a new cooperative relationship over the next 50 years.
At Dharmaprasada University
In addition, Chairman Tanaka visited Papua Province in eastern Indonesia, where he visited the Papua Provincial Government, Cendrawasih University, and the site of JICA’s grassroots technical cooperation project.
During the site visit to the Yamagata Papua Bright Rural Community Project, a grassroots technical cooperation project underway in Papua Province, the participants observed how agricultural technologies developed in the region in cooperation with Yamagata Prefecture are being disseminated through the organization and collaboration of local agricultural extension workers and farmers.
Grassroots Technical Cooperation Project Site (Papua Province)
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