Japanese Government has pledged to strengthen its bilateral and economic relations with Nigeria for the common good of both countries. Japanese Foreign Minister, Ms Kamikawa Yoko, disclosed this during a meeting with Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, in Abuja on Tuesday.
Yoko, who arrived Nigeria Monday night as part of her three African nations tour, expressed satisfaction that the number of new investments by Japanese companies in Nigeria was increasing and expressed her determination to further strengthen business and economic ties with Nigeria.
She also promised to support Nigeria’s human resources development in the fields of start-ups and business-related laws, adding that Japan would cooperate with Nigeria in addressing the challenges it faces in the areas of food security and measures against infectious diseases.
Yoko stated that Japan would support the political and economic stability of Nigeria and other coastal countries of the Gulf of Guinea by continuing humanitarian and development assistance to address the root causes such as poverty and humanitarian crises in the Sahel.
She noted that Japan was implementing efforts to support women’s livelihoods and prevention of gender-based violence in North-East Nigeria based on the perspective of Women, Peace and Security (WPS), promising to further strengthen the partnership in the field of WPS.
In his response, Tuggar expressed appreciation for Japan’s support for food security and measures against infectious diseases in Nigeria. He also expressed his expectation for further enhancement of bilateral economic relations by utilizing Japanese technology and financial resources and expansion of Japanese companies into Nigeria.
The two ministers confirmed the need for strengthening of cooperation in the international arena, including the situation in East Asia, WPS, nuclear disarmament, and strengthening of the functions of the United Nations, including the Security Council reform as well as bilateral relations towards the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) Ministerial Meeting in August this year and TICAD 9 in August next year.
Earlier ahead of her arrival, the Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Matsunaga Kazuyoshi, and the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, signed an agreement to bolster food security in Nigeria.
The Food Security Emergency Support Loan project, valued at $108 million, builds on Japan’s commitment to support food crisis response and sustainable agricultural production in Nigeria.
The Ambassador also signed the exchange of notes for strengthening of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the enhancement of rice seeds production projects with the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu.
Bagudu said the project, strengthening Diagnostic Capacity of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, entails installing Biosafety level (BSL) 2 and 3 laboratories and equipment at the National Reference Laboratory of NCDC.
