TANAKA Akihiko

Takana meets with President Blaise Compaore.

On March 12, JICA President Akihiko Tanaka held talks in the Burkina Faso capital of Ouagadougou with key personnel, including President Blaise Compaore, Thomas Pale, Minister Delegated to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation, in Charge of Regional Cooperation, and Hadjibou Soumare, President of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (known also by its French name Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine or UEMOA).^[1]

1. In the talks with Compaore, the two exchanged opinions on the serious circumstances in the Sahel.^[2] Tanaka expressed his admiration for the tremendous efforts the president has made toward peace and stability, and appealed to the international community to provide on-going support toward a peaceful resolution. During his visits to project sites, Tanaka witnessed how strongly JICA cooperation has taken root with the people of Burkina Faso. He discussed JICA plans to continue providing cooperation to further deepen the friendship between Japan and Burkina Faso through the dispatch of Japanese Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) and other efforts with an emphasis on the fronts of education, agriculture and regional unification.

2. Compaore is the only African president who has attended all four of the TICAD^[3] sessions that have been held so far. He gave high praise to Japan for the role it has played in development in Africa, and confirmed his intention to promote cooperation to obtain the maximum mutual benefits possible at the upcoming TICAD V.

3. In the talks with Pale, which took place before the discussion with Compaore, Pale gave high praise to JICA cooperation and presented Tanaka with a national award.

4. In the conference with Hadjibou Soumare, both felt that that regional unification is a critical theme for West Africa, and they reconfirmed the importance of UEMOA as a development partner for JICA.

On March 13, Tanaka visited an elementary school where the JOCV is carrying out cooperation, and then travelled to the next country on his itinerary.

JICA President Tanaka (left) shakes hands with Minister Thomas Pale after receiving a national award.

UEMOA President Hadjibou Soumare and Tanaka shake hands.