Japan supports Cape Verde with 913 thousand euros for food assistance – Observer

Cape Verde and Japan signed this Friday a financial cooperation agreement worth 913 thousand euros for food assistance to the archipelago, they announced in an official ceremony.

“Japan has always been with us in this great battle“, stated the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Regional Integration of Cape Verde, José Filomeno Monteiro, during the signing of the agreement, in Praia, evoking the history of severe droughts and famine on the islands in the 20th century.

The Cape Verdean minister highlighted the positive evolution of bilateral relations and the mutual interest in expanding cooperation to strategic areas, such as the blue economy, a sector in which the Japanese nation has extensive experience.

“We are pleased with the fact that this cooperation between Cape Verde and Japan is on the rise,” he said, referring to equipment donated on Thursday to support artisanal fishing, worth more than two million euros. .

When signing the agreement, the government official was accompanied by the Japanese ambassador to Cape Verde, Izawa Osamu.

The Asian country has regularly contributed to mitigating the risks of food insecurity: in September 2023 it sent 617 tons of wheat flour to the archipelago, an amount to which it added 500 tons in August this year, in a first shipment of a total of 875 tons agreed. .