MONROVIA, Montserrado – Japan has provided two separate grant assistance in food and medical supply that are worth ¥350 million (US$3.3 million) to Liberia.

According to a press statement issued by the Liberian Embassy in Ghana, on August 6, a signing ceremony was held in Accra, Ghana between Liberian ambassador to Ghana, Genevieve A. Kennedy, and Ambassador Tsutomu Himeno, the Japanese ambassador to Ghana. This followed the Japanese cabinet’s approval of the assistance on July 17.

“The grant assistance showcases the strong Japan-Liberia friendship and partnership and expressed the wish of the people and the Government of Japan that this assistance will make a valuable contribution to complementing the efforts of the people and the Government of Liberia in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and food insecurity,” the statement read.

During the ceremony, Kennedy recounted the “strong development partnership” between the two countries since they established diplomatic relationships in 1961. Among the evidence of that partnership, Kennedy said, was the construction of the Liberia-Japanese Friendship Maternity Hospital at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Medical Center and the reconstruction and expansion of Somalia Drive (now referred to as the Japan Freeway).

She further emphasized President George Weah’s appreciation of Japan’s support to Liberia, which she said was conveyed last August when Weah and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met during the Tokyo International Conference on African Development Summit.

According to the press statement, the medical supplies grant is valued at ¥100 million (US$950,000) while the food assistance is valued at ¥250 million (US$2.3 million).

Featured photo courtesy of the Liberian Embassy in Ghana