On June 23, the President of the Republic of Madagascar, Andry Rajoelina, met the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Hayashi Yoshimasa. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the closing ceremony of the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact, held at the Palais Brongniart in Paris.
The meeting between the two personalities took place in the Residence of the Embassy of Madagascar in Paris (photo). Discussions focused on strengthening bilateral relations and economic cooperation between Japan and Madagascar. One of the topics discussed was the provision of ammonium sulfate from Ambatovy’s production. This by-product is a major ingredient in the composition of fertilizers for Malagasy farmers. Indeed, as the price of fertilizer is particularly high, the contribution of this major company belonging to the Japanese SUMITOMO group would be very useful in helping to achieve the goal of food self-sufficiency.
Through its Minister of Foreign Affairs, Japan has expressed its willingness to strengthen its support for increasing rice production in Madagascar, notably through the development of agricultural techniques and the provision of equipment. With the contribution of Japanese cooperation, Madagascar was able to implement the PC23 project, which irrigated 10,000 ha of rice fields in the Alaotra Mangoro region.
Fight against illegal fishing
Also on the agenda were security issues concerning the Indian Ocean region and Madagascar, in particular the question of trafficking in the Mozambique Channel. Japan therefore reiterated its support for the fight against illegal fishing. The Japanese government recently donated 5 coastguard boats to Madagascar, 2 of which are already in the country, with 3 more on the way. In addition, the two countries will be stepping up their cooperation in terms of the blue economy, through technologies to protect marine biodiversity.
Japanese-Malagasy cooperation is also reflected in a further step forward in the construction of road infrastructure, notably with the donation of road-building machinery which will shortly be arriving in Madagascar. As a reminder, the construction of the Antsapazana and Mangoro bridges, in partnership with JICA, the Japanese cooperation agency, is currently being finalized and these infrastructures will be inaugurated shortly.
Source : Présidence de Madagascar.
