Akihiko Tanaka

On February 21, JICA President Akihiko Tanaka arrived in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, for a visit to the fourth country in his Sub-Saharan African trip.

Tanaka paid courtesy visits to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Henrique Banze, Prime Minister Alberto Vaquina and Deputy Minister of Planning and Development Amelia Nakhare, and exchanged opinions with them. The main points of the discussions were as below.

1) With reference to the heavy flooding in central and southern Mozambique, both sides confirmed the importance for mid- to long-term measures to prevent flood recurrence, in addition to confirmation of the short term emergency aid (recently provided in an amount equivalent to 21 million yen). From this perspective, Tanaka said that JICA would examine how to strengthen cooperation to climate change measures.

2) Regarding development of the Nacala Development Corridor, with a focus on multi-sector regional development, both sides confirmed that development would be promoted with a regional perspective that includes neighboring countries, and that close partnerships and coordination among government agencies and provincial governments will be essential.

3) Concerning the ProSAVANA project (for general agricultural development in the Nacala Development Corridor region), the objective of the project is to improve the livelihoods of small farmers, and the necessity for responsible agricultural investment according to rules to accelerate that improvement is confirmed. Tanaka further expressed his expectation for project ownership by the Government of Mozambique so that accurate information about the project would be shared with local farmers and other local people.

On February 22, Tanaka was scheduled to pay courtesy visits to President Armando Guebuza and Minister of Agriculture José Condugua Pacheco, visit Nampula Province in the north, and tour various project sites in the Nacala Development Corridor area.

Talks with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Henrique Banze (left photo), President Tanaka (left) shakes hands with Prime Minister Alberto Vaquina (center photo), talks with Deputy Minister of Planning and Development Amelia Nakhare (right photo).