Press Releases

With President Giammattei
Donating books and DVDs to the Diplomatic Academy
President Tanaka adding the finishing touches to the JICA logo painted onto the wall at the Community Police Project site
Operating heavy equipment to remove mines
JICA Chair special lecture at the University of Los Andes

JICA President Tanaka Akihiko visited Guatemala and Colombia from February 20 to 26. While in Guatemala, President Tanaka gave a lecture at the Diplomatic Academy and witnessed the signing of a partnership agreement with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Then, in Colombia, he gave a special JICA Chair (JICA Program for Japanese Studies) lecture and attended a signing ceremony for the Record of Discussions of a technical cooperation project to promote mine action. He also met with government officials in each country and made visits to the sites of cooperation projects.

1. Republic of Guatemala
President Tanaka met with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei in the capital of the country, Guatemala City. He referred to JICA projects such as the Community Police Project and Advisor for Financial Inclusion Promotion with Immigrant Remittance, and stated that this year marks the 45th anniversary of the Agreement on Technical Cooperation with Guatemala. He also noted JICA’s hope for the continued deepening of the cooperative relationship between their two countries in the future. President Giammattei agreed with President Tanaka's statement, noting JICA’s cooperation in promoting market access for small-scale farmers.

President Tanaka also gave a lecture at the Diplomatic Academy of the Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the topic of “Human Security and Compound Crises.” This lecture was broadcast live to Guatemalan government agencies, and was viewed by many people. He also donated books and DVDs to the academy.

At the US Embassy in Guatemala, President Tanaka participated in a signing ceremony for a partnership agreement between JICA and USAID related to irregular migration measures under US-Japan cooperation. He said that with the signing of this partnership agreement, JICA and USAID would further strengthen their cooperation, and that he expected this to lead to concrete action contributing to solving issues of poverty, security, and natural disasters etc., which have been the root causes of irregular migration.

President Tanaka also visited the site of the “Community Police Project,” a technical cooperation project (TCP) for the improvement of public security in the community, and added the finishing touches to the JICA logo, which had been painted onto a street mural.

2. Republic of Colombia

President Tanaka then visited Colombia and met with Vice President Francia Marquez and Minister of Foreign Affairs Alvaro Leyva in the capital, Bogota. During the meetings, it was confirmed to further deepen the cooperative relationship of the two countries, as neighbors across the Pacific Ocean. Discussions included cooperation on the mine action project to contribute to “Total Peace (Paz Total),” which was promoted by the Gustavo Petro government after the 50-year domestic conflict. The activities of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers and new support needs focusing on the Pacific coast region were discussed, too .

President Tanaka also attended the signing of the Record of Discussions for a new technical cooperation project, “Project for Human Resource Development to Implement Comprehensive Mine Action.” Prior to this, after hearing an explanation of the current state of landmine damage in Colombia at the Landmine Museum, he watched a demonstration of landmine removal at a mine action site and operated the heavy equipment himself.

At the University of Los Andes Japan Center, President Tanaka gave a special JICA Chair lecture on the topic of “The World and Japan: Post-Cold War Era.” The lecture was broadcast live throughout the region and was attended by about 150 people.