- Japan’s Grant Aid to 14 CARICOM countries
On December 14, in Tokyo, following Japan-CARICOM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, in the presence of Mr. IWAYA Takeshi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan and Foreign Ministers and other government dignitaries of CARICOM countries, Mr. ISHIZUKI Hideo, Director-General, International Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and Ms. ADACHI Fumio, Head, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Investment and Technology Promotion Office, Tokyo, signed and exchanged notes concerning Japan’s grant aid of 730 million yen for “The Project for Industrial Development and Technology Transfer in the Member States of the Caribbean Community.
- CARICOM countries face vulnerabilities such as the effects of climate change, frequent natural disasters, and economic structures that are dependent on specific industries such as tourism. In addition, industrial policies in many countries prioritize investment in agricultural and manufacturing sectors to diversify their economic base.
- This cooperation is expected to contribute to overcoming the vulnerabilities of CARICOM countries by providing equipment utilizing technologies of Japanese companies in water, agribusiness and other sectors, inviting CARICOM government officials in charge of investment promotion to Japan, and providing technical cooperation in the industrial sector, thereby facilitating industrial diversification and addressing development issues through utilization of the expertise of Japan and UNIDO.
- Japan has announced that it will implement “cooperation towards sustainable development including overcoming vulnerabilities particular to Small Island Developing States” as the first pillar of Japan’s CARICOM Policy, and this assistance will be implemented as part of the policy.
