TANAKA Akihiko

JICA President Akihiko Tanaka inspects a project.

JICA President Akihiko Tanaka exchanged views with people involved in development cooperation and visited project sites April 25 in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.

In discussions with resident representatives and staff of United Nations agencies and European aid agencies, Tanaka exchanged opinions on cooperation to Sudan. Participants in the meeting mentioned that recent improved relations between Sudan and South Sudan are not only a great help to the economies of the two countries, but that they also will have a positive effect on the future implementation of projects by the agencies. Participants also swapped views on topics including the need to transition from humanitarian aid to development assistance and the need to formulate a development plan appropriate to the current situation of the two countries.

Moreover, many aid agencies are implementing projects in the two countries in cooperation with international NGOs. There was also a discussion of the importance of NGOs' capacity building to more effectively advance cooperation with Sudanese NGOs.

As part of his visits of JICA's cooperation sites, Tanaka went to the Drinking Water and Sanitation Unit Training Center assisted under the Project for Human Resources Development for Water Supply (Phase-2) . The project aims to train water engineers who contribute to improving the capacity to maintain and manage water supply facilities.

JICA President Akihiko Tanaka, left, listens as a participant explains a vocational training course.

Mohammed Ammar, director general of the Public Water Corporation (PWC), expressed his appreciation for the fact that through JICA cooperation more than 1,000 PWC employees have improved their capacity through training in a wide range of fields and are contributing to the betterment of Sudan's water supply programs. The training fields included management of water supply facility and well, and control of water quality.

Tanaka then observed activities of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV). Khartoum 2 Vocational Training Center, where JOCV are active, is a model school for the Project for Strengthening Vocational Training in Sudan. As such, it aims to improve the nationwide vocational training system, and it is working on development of a training curriculum to expand employment opportunities for the socially vulnerable such as women and people with disabilities, as well as for those who have been affected by conflict.

A woman who participated in a sewing course at the school said, "I learned how to teach sewing to women with disabilities. I'd like to help women with disabilities improve their livelihoods."

Finishing his two-day stay in Sudan, Tanaka departed for Japan.