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Nairobi 4 Oct 2003 (HANA) Japanese government and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) have granted Kenya US$6 million for various development projects in the country, a senior Kenyan government official disclosed here Friday.
“The government of Japan announced to Kenya a grant of Japanese Yen 500 million through non-project grant aid and the UNIDO director general, C. Magarinos announced a grant of US$1 million for training in the industrial sector under the Kenya/UNIDO technical co-operation agreement during the bilateral meetings I held with them at the Third Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD III) in Japan,” Kenyan minister for planning and national development, Anyang Nyong’o told a news conference in Nairobi upon his arrival from Tokyo.
He appreciated Japan’s continued support for the “vision of a better future for Africa” through the TICAD process adding that Kenya will ensure that the available opportunities are optimally utilized. Nyong’o said during the Tokyo Conference which was attended by delegates from 89 countries including 50 African countries that ended on Wednesday, Japanese Prime Minister extended a total of US$1 billion in grant assistance to directly benefit Africans in areas such as health and medical care, education, water and food assistance.
“In order to promote private investment in Africa by Japanese companies, the Japan granted Africa US$300 million over five years,” Nyong’o said noting in addition to that Japan will steadily implement cancellation of Yen Loan ODA debt totaling US$3 billion to the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC’s) and other eligible countries of Africa.
TICAD is a process, which has created a forum for Africa and its development partners to hold policy dialogue, exchange views, build consensus in support of African Development and share experiences and know-how. Nyong’o said the Conference adopted the TICAD Tenth Anniversary Declaration, which encapsulates all the issues and challenges that Africa currently faces and subsequently charts out the way forward into tackling these issues. ENDS
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