The Japanese government has invested nearly N.dollars 5.2 billion in several projects in Namibia over the last 10 years in efforts to foster stability and development in the country.

In an exclusive interview with Nampa yesterday, the Ambassador of Japan to Namibia, Hisao Nishimaki, said the amicable relationship between Namibia and Japan is strengthening.

Nishimaki said the Japanese government has invested US.dollars 271 million (roughly N.dollars 5 195 452 110 at current exchange rates) in various projects across the country over the last 10 years.

Between 2020 and 2022, the Government of Japan provided 17 Namibian hospitals with medical equipment amounting to approximately N.dollars 954 million, while another N.dollars 954 million went towards providing the Zambezi Vocational Training Centre with training equipment.

Japan’s major contributions have been in human resource development, agricultural development, industrialisation, and emergency response.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), a training programme, has also dispatched 158 volunteers to local schools, regional governments, and vocational training centres since 2006.

“Now we can proudly say we have built more than 300 classrooms in primary schools from the Zambezi Region to the ||Kharas Region, as well as dispatched more than 160 professional and qualified volunteer teachers,” he said.

Nishimaki added that they enabled over 1 600 Namibians to go to Japan with fully funded scholarships at international universities.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency