Japan’s Ambassador to Ethiopia Ito Takako underscored that there are many potential areas conducive to further strengthening the great Ethio-Japan relations and cooperation.
The ambassador told ENA that the Government of Japan is strengthening its bilateral relations with Ethiopia and assisting economic development in the country.
According to her, Japan is implementing projects, including the Grassroots Human Security Project, the Grant Assistance Project, and the TICAD Human Development Center.
Among the projects include the water supply system built in Bahir Dar, capital of Amhara region, as part of the Grant Assistance Project.
Japan has also been contributing to the development of human resources in Ethiopia and a Kaizen center for Ethiopians and Africans would be inaugurated in October.
The Grassroots Human Security Project has been contributing to the efforts of addressing challenges of the people in various spheres, including education, health, and welfare, at the grassroots level.
Regarding the Japanese investment in Ethiopia, Ambassador Takako stated that Japan has big investments in Ethiopia and Japanese investors are interested in investing in the country.
As part of Japanese big investments in Ethiopia, she pointed out Japan’s conglomerate Sumitomo Corporation, which has a 27 percent stake in Safaricom Ethiopia.
The ambassador sees much potential for further strengthening the Ethio-Japan relations and cooperation.
There are many potentials for future cooperation and we have built good relations through institutions like JICA that has been operational for the last 50 years in Ethiopia.
Ambassador Takako reiterated that Japan will further strengthen cooperation with Ethiopia in various areas, including agriculture, and human security issues, among other things.
“Agriculture is one area. Human security — that means each individual to be empowered in such areas as education or the health or even the security of the people, is also important and we will continue to work on these.”
Diplomatic relations between Ethiopia and Japan date back to 1930s.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency