JICA President Tanaka Visited Nigeria and Senegal

2024.11.06

JICA President Tanaka Akihiko visited the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of Senegal from October 7 to October 16.
In Nigeria, he met with Vice President Kashim Shettima and other key government officials for talks, then visited JICA's ongoing cooperation projects. In Senegal, President Tanaka attended the 40th anniversary ceremony of the Senegal-Japan Vocational and Technical Training Center (CFPT-SJ), engaged in talks with President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and important government officials, and reviewed the two countries’ various cooperation projects.

Nigeria

During meetings with Vice President Shettima of Nigeria and government officials, President Tanaka outlined JICA’s projects in the country and expressed hope for stronger future collaboration. Vice President Shettima expressed his appreciation for JICA's cooperation to date, including the Polio Eradication Project that contributed to the 2020 polio-free declaration. He also emphasized JICA’s importance as a key partner to Nigeria and shared hopes for enhancing their mutual relationship through further cooperation.

President Tanaka then visited the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), which provides governmental support for the country’s entrepreneurs and startups. Recognizing the growing attention on startups as leaders in solving Nigeria’s various social challenges, including the issue of poverty, JICA has dispatched an expert to assist ONDI in gathering information on startup trends and conditions, as well as in the formulation of startup-related strategic documents. The director of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), supervising organization to the ONDI, also accompanied the delegation on the visit and expressed appreciation for the work accomplished by the JICA expert as well as hopes for continued collaboration.

President Tanaka also took part in lively interactions with alumni of JICA’s study abroad program who obtained their master’s and doctoral degrees in Japan. Over 150 Nigerian students have participated in JICA’s study abroad program to date, and a group of voluntary program graduates has established KAKEHASHI Africa Nigeria (KANI), a group dedicated to encouraging Japanese business expansion in Nigeria. President Tanaka expressed hopes for KANI’s role as a driving force for future economic growth in Nigeria and strengthening ties between Japan and Nigeria.

Meeting with Minister of Budget and Economic Planning Abubakar Atiku Bagudu

Meeting with Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Wale Edun

Visiting a startup support facility

Interacting with alumni of JICA’s study abroad program

Senegal

In his meeting with President Faye of Senegal and government officials, President Tanaka paid tribute to Senegal’s democratic change of government and its role as a model country for democracy in West Africa, as well as its facilitation of peace and stability in Sahel countries. He noted that 2025 marks the 45th anniversary of the opening of JICA’s Senegal Office and the dispatch of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) to the country, reflected on JICA projects in Senegal to date, and exchanged opinions on future cooperation. President Faye expressed his gratitude for JICA’s longstanding cooperation and conveyed hopes for further JICA cooperation under the new administration’s development policies.

Next, President Tanaka attended the 40th anniversary ceremony of the Senegal-Japan Vocational and Technical Training Center (CFPT-SJ). During the event, he delivered a congratulatory address acknowledging CFPT-SJ’s contribution to human resources development. Since 1984, it has trained over 7,000 personnel, who now play key roles as senior technicians in Senegal’s industrial development, as well as that of neighboring countries. President Tanaka also paid tribute to the 40 years of ongoing hard work by CFPT-SJ stakeholders in their commitment to making the center a hub for vocational training in Senegal and Africa as a whole.

During the meeting between President Tanaka and Minister of Vocational Training Amadou Moustapha Sarre, the Senegalese minister expressed appreciation for four decades of JICA’s cooperation. President Tanaka emphasized the importance of human resource development and assured JICA’s continued contributions to the field in Senegal.

Additionally, President Tanaka engaged in fruitful exchanges with members of the JOCV program, farmers adopting the Smallholder Horticulture Empowerment & Promotion (SHEP) approach, and representatives from schools involved in the Mathematics Education Project.