Some Background About the Chief Representative
Portrait Photo of Ms. SHIOTSUKA Minako
Minako SHIOTSUKA is a Chief Representative of JICA Rwanda since February 2023.
Prior to that, she was the Director of Planning and Sectoral Strategy Division, Governance and Peacebuilding Department at JICA HQs. She played the leading role to promote the JICA Global Agenda (20 cooperation strategies for global issues) to maximize the collective impact of development efforts. JICA Global Agenda helps achieve the SDGs in partner countries and address global challenges.
Shiotsuka’s first contact with Africa inspired her with the diversity and energy of Africa and a motivation to contribute to the development journey of the continent. She worked at JICA Malawi in charge of social sector development program between 2009 to 2012 and at JICA Tanzania in 2004. From 2012 to 2014, she was country officer of Uganda, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia as Deputy Director of Africa Division2, Africa Department at JICA HQs.
Message from the Chief Representative
As I take on this role as the Chief Representative of JICA Rwanda office, I would like to continue and enhance our past cooperation in four priority areas that we have in line with Rwanda’s National Strategy of Transformation (NST1) and Vision 2050. These include economic infrastructure, agriculture, social services, and human resource development. The first two areas are the engine of development, while the other two are the foundation.
Development is a collaborative journey; the world is facing more complex challenges such as climate change, inflation, and food security, therefore we have to unite our efforts to tackle such global issues. Sharing the targets to be achieved with stakeholders, we aim to promote partnerships and co-creation with various partners.
Our vision at JICA is “Leading the world with trust” and I believe that it comes from the relationship between people. JICA’s operations consist of the accumulation of daily activities on the ground, which cultivates deeper connections between countries and people alike. Based on the solid relationship which JICA has built in Rwanda so far, I do hope JICA can be a trusted partner of Rwandan people to walk alongside toward the way for future prosperity.
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