on a two-day official visit to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
According to an Executive Mansion release, President Sirleaf will join her sub-regional colleagues Friday evening in a Mini-Summit of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan.
The Japanese Prime Minister is on a week-long visit to Africa, which includes stops in Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique and Ethiopia. His visit is expected to further enhance Japan’s economic ties with Africa, including “business relations,” while also highlighting Japan’s efforts toward international peace.
Before his departure, Prime Minister Abe told reporters that Africa can be seen as “a frontier for Japan’s diplomacy.” Japan is a long-time aid donor to Africa, and it has stepped up its assistance in recent times.
Prime Minister Abe’s visit to Africa follows the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V), held in Yokohama, Japan, in June 2013, which was attended by nearly 40 African Heads of State and Government. At that meeting, Japan discussed, among others, trade and investment, peace and stability in Africa. Japan also pledged US$14 billion over the next five years, as well as promised billions more in private investment.
Liberia and Japan have had a long-standing and reliable friendship and bilateral cooperation spanning over 61 years, making Japan Liberia’s longest partner in the Asian region. The resumption of bilateral and technical cooperation between the two countries, since the end of the Liberian civil war, has led to the implementation of important social and economic projects in Liberia, among them: the inception of Japanese food and petroleum aid to Liberia; a US$9 million education grant; the rehabilitation of the Liberian-Japanese Friendship Maternity Center; the provision of medical equipment; the dispatch of Japanese health experts to Liberia; and human capacity training for over 100 Liberian government officials in Japan.
Other support include: the utilization of the Japanese Counterpart Fund for the purchase and distribution of paddy and seed rice to smallholder farmers; the ongoing rehabilitation of the Monrovia Power System; and, most recently, commencement of the construction of Somalia Drive.
President Sirleaf’ will also hold a bilateral meeting with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara before her return to Monrovia on Saturday, January 11.
While President Sirleaf is away from the country, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. Morris Dukuly, will coordinate the affairs of State in consultation with Vice President Dr. Joseph N. Boakai, Sr.
