16 August 2010, Male’: A Technical Cooperation Agreement was signed between the Government of the Republic of Maldives and the Government of Japan today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives in Male’. H.E. Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives and H.E. Mr. Kunio Takahashi, Ambassador of Japan to the Maldives, signed the agreement on behalf of the two respective countries.
This Agreement will become a significant milestone in the relations between the two countries as it is an an important step that would contribute to the socio-economic development of the Maldives.
Japan’s technical cooperation assistance programme for the Maldives so far has focused mainly on counterpart training including training opportunities for Maldivian youth in Japan and dispatch of Japanese volunteers. Up to the end of 2008 the Government of Japan has disbursed over 5.8 billion Yen (774 million Rufiyaa) as technical cooperation assistance to Maldives. This includes the dispatch of 50 experts and 249 Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCVs) from Japan to the Maldives and counterpart training provided to 735 Maldivians in Japan.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will implement the technical cooperation programme on behalf of the Government of Japan.
