Kishida Fumio, the prime minister of Japan, has pledged $500 million to the "Accra Initiative" to combat the emergence of terrorist rebels in the Sahel and to maintain peace and security in the Gulf of Guinea coastline states.
He stated that there will be greater backing for the effort and that the money would be delivered within the following three years.
The Prime Minister commended President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his role in launching the project and other initiatives to maintain peace and stability in the area.
He asserted that economic growth could not be realized without peace and stability.
As part of his two-day visit to Ghana, Mr Fumio made this announcement at a luncheon organized in his honour at the Jubilee House. official trip to the nation.
It is the first time in 17 years that a Japanese prime minister has visited the nation.
To coordinate efforts to address the escalating terrorism cases in some member nations, coastal and Sahelien West African states have joined together to pool their information collecting and response operations.
It also aims to increase security by facilitating the sharing of operational data and intelligence.
Nigeria later joined after Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, and Togo launched it in September 2017.
Tour
Mr Fumio is travelling to four countries in Africa to meet with the leaders of these nations.
He recently returned from a seven-day tour that included Egypt.
The other two are Kenya and Mozambique, and on his way back to Japan, he will make a detour in Singapore.
Agreement
Two agreements were later signed by the two presidents.
The first agreement dealt with rice production, while the second one with Japan's human resource development training.
According to Mr Fumio, infrastructure is the cornerstone of development, and as a result, Japan will work with Ghana to secure phase two of the Tema Motorway Roundabout project.
He claimed that was now important since roads, including significant motorways like the Abidjan-Lagos corridor road, connected towns and cities.
The PM added that he was in talks with some Japanese companies interested in making investments in Ghana.
After Toyota and Suziki, which were already assembling automobiles in Ghana, he predicted that Honda will open a plant there by the end of this year.
"Japanese companies are introducing business models that are deeply rooted in Africa, and I am hopeful that our business relationship will further blossom," the PM remarked.
He claimed that because of the special relationship that existed between Dr Hideyo Noguchi and the nation, Japan had long supported Ghana in the field of health, including the Noguchi Memorial Research Institute.
Even though Dr Noguchi passed away in Ghana in 1928, the PM claimed that he had established cooperation between the two nations, which was only getting stronger.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0