JICA-RI Director Ohno Shares Information on Japanese Development Cooperation Initiatives in Visit to Canadian Think Tanks

On Sept. 20, 2019, JICA Research Institute (JICA-RI) Director Izumi Ohno visited two Canadian think tanks, where she gave a seminar and participated in discussions.

First, she visited the Center for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), whose strength is the fields of global governance and technology. An in-house seminar was held, and Ohno gave a presentation entitled "Japanese Development Cooperation in a Changing World." During this time of change for the international community, Japan should contribute to solving the world's problems by engaging in development cooperation as soft power, Ohno said, introducing initiatives such as triangular cooperation with emerging nations, partnerships with local governments and companies and knowledge partnerships. She also explained the outcomes of the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) and the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) concept. During a Q&A session with the audience, participants showed interest in the relationship between China's Belt and Road Initiative and FOIP, Japan's and China's initiatives related to high-quality infrastructure, and partnerships with emerging nations.

Ohno also visited the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), a research support organization that promotes research aimed at strengthening the capacity of research institutions in developing countries and solving development issues. In a conversation with Jean Lebel, the president of the IDRC, she expressed gratitude for the meaningful partnership between JICA-RI and IDRC. This has included making policy briefs with researchers supported by the IDRC and jointly hosting side events for a Think 20 task force for which JICA-RI served as co-chair. They also discussed priority research areas to be tackled in the future.