JICA President Akihiko Tanaka visited the Republic of Vanuatu, the Kingdom of Tonga, and the Independent State of Samoa from February 15 to February 25, meeting with government officials and inspecting JICA projects. Through this visit, they reaffirmed the long history of exchange and strong ties between Japan and the Pacific island countries, and confirmed their policy to continue to contribute to regional resilience by drawing on Japan’s experience in addressing social issues faced by Pacific island countries, such as natural disaster risks and human resource outflows.
Vanuatu.
President Tanaka met with Prime Minister Josam Napat and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economic Management Johnny Koanapo Raso to exchange views on the maintenance and development of friendly relations between the two countries and new areas of cooperation, conveyed condolences and solidarity for the December 2024 Port Vila earthquake, and expressed his intention to steadily promote the grant aid ” The two ministers also expressed their intention to steadily promote support for recovery and reconstruction from the earthquake, including the replacement of the Tagabe Bridge under the “Emergency Rehabilitation Plan for Major Economic Infrastructures Affected by the Earthquake”.
In addition, President Tanaka observed a math class given by JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (elementary school educators) at Pango Central Elementary School, and encouraged the volunteers’ efforts to improve elementary education in the area. He also met with a JICA member (hospital administration and nutritionist) working at the Vanuatu National Hospital, and highly appreciated the efforts of the members in various fields, including health and medical care.
Observation of Overseas Cooperation Volunteers’ activities at an elementary school Observation of Overseas Cooperation Volunteers’ activities at a hospital
Tonga
Next, President Tanaka visited Tonga. During the meeting with Prime Minister Fatafehi Fakafanua and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tupoutoa Ulukalala, they exchanged views on the direction of cooperation in the country’s priority issues, and deepened their recognition of the importance of cooperation to improve the country’s resilience, particularly in the areas of strengthening critical infrastructure, expanding renewable energy, planning in line with the “Build Back Better” principle, and strengthening administrative capacity. The Ministers deepened their understanding of the importance of cooperation to improve the country’s resilience, particularly in the areas of critical infrastructure resilience, expansion of renewable energy, and planning and administrative capacity building in line with the principles of Build Back Better.
In addition, during a visit to a wind power generation facility on Tongatapu Island, the participants inspected the facilities introduced under the Grant Aid “Wind Power Generation System Improvement Plan” and confirmed the stabilization of the power supply through the introduction of renewable energy and its contribution to climate change countermeasures. The installations, which include a retractable power generation facility, are based on the technology of Japanese companies, and we confirmed that the deployment of technology through public-private partnership is linked to the continuous support for the energy sector in Tongatapu.
We observed the activities of a JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteer (Zither) assigned to the Ministry of Education, who is teaching abacus lessons, and confirmed the importance of cooperation through the strong people-to-people ties between Tonga and Japan, as well as the enthusiastic efforts of Tongan children and the activities of the JICA Volunteer.
Observation of a wind power generation facility Observation of an abacus class given by an Overseas Cooperation Volunteer
Samoa
Finally, President Tanaka visited Samoa. During his meeting with Prime Minister Ra’auliaremalietoa and Finance Minister Mulipola, they exchanged views on the strengthening of bilateral relations that have been deepened through cooperation, as well as issues in the country such as climate change, infrastructure development, and human resource development, and future cooperation.
During the visit to the Apia Port, we confirmed that the port facilities such as walls, breakwaters, and container yards, which were developed through past cooperation programs such as the grant aid “Apia Port Safety Improvement Plan,” are still being used as a major port. During the visit to the Samoan Wrestling Association, the JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (Wrestling) observed the coaching of the senior class and encouraged the team members. We also confirmed that the activities of the JICA members are contributing to the promotion of wrestling and sports in Samoa through their daily coaching and active participation in international tournaments.
Visiting Apia Port Observation of a wrestling class by a member of the Overseas Cooperation Volunteers
JICA will continue to provide a wide range of cooperation to contribute to the development of the overall economic and social infrastructure of the countries of Vanuatu, Tonga and Samoa.
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