Japan acknowledged for supporting Guyana’s development

Japanese Ambassador to Guyana, Mitsuhiko Okada and his wife Mrs. Mari Okada, paid a courtesy call to the Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo on Wednesday, where Japan’s continuous support towards Guyana’s development was acknowledged.

Ambassador Okada has served Guyana for the last three years and has overseen the implementation of several projects.

During their discussions, the Ambassador provided the Prime Minister with an update of the current projects being funded across the country which amount to over $4.4 billion (US$22M).

Among the ventures designed to enhance the capacity building of citizens, is the project to Strengthen the Disaster Management Capacity of Women in Guyana and Dominica.

This project is a collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the first workshop held on November 5, this year saw residents from 14 communities in the North Rupununi district attending.

The exercise was aimed at enabling farmers to make informed decisions.

Other Japanese-funded projects include the Introduction of Renewable Energy and the Improved Power System which will be completed in 2020.

This venture aims to enhance the efficiency of Guyana’s power sector and introduce solar panels and energy-saving facilities to the CARICOM office at Turkeyen.

The J-CCCP – Japan-Caribbean Climate Change Partnership, in collaboration with the UNDP, is piloting ongoing two projects – the implementation of Solar-photovoltaic systems in Bartica and improved access to water in rural communities that are prone to drought conditions.

The Japan government has also provided funding for the construction of skills training resource centre in Corentyne, Berbice, a medical service centre at Iwokrama and a multi-purpose centre in Kuma. All the facilities are slated to be completed by March 2019

With Ambassador Okada’s tenure expecting to come to an end soon, the Prime Minister remarked that he is confident that the relations fostered between the two countries will only intensify over time. (Extracted and modified from Department of Public Information)