Japan has donated a total of 8.5 billion FCFA (about US$ 17 million) to Senegal to enable the West African nation strengthen its social and agriculture-boosting projects, according to a communique from the Japanese embassy here, obtained by PANA.
The communique said the Japanese Ambassador to Senegal, Hiroshi Fukada, and the Senegalese economy and finance minister, Amadou Kane, signed two financial aid agreements to that effect on Tuesday.
According to the embassy, the agreement-signing ceremony was also attended by Senegalese ministers of national education, agriculture and equipment, as well as the resident representative of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Hisatoshi Okubo.
“One of the two agreements makes provision for the construction of 240 classrooms in 20 colleges in the regions of Louga (North) and Kaolack (Centre) at a cost of 6.8 billion FCFA (about US$ 13.6 million).
Senegal hopes to increase the number of classrooms in primary and secondary education to 2,300, including 269 classrooms being built in the capital, Dakar, and Thiès, in the western part of Senegal.
According to the communique, the second agreement will enable the Senegalese government to purchase fertilizers, to the tune of 1.7 billion FCFA (about US$ 3.4 million), to make up for its food deficits and increase cereal production.
In response to an international appeal in April for support by Senegalese president Macky Sall, Japan on 15 May donated 17,500 tonnes of rice to Senegal, promising the Africans a financial grant in August.
It also donated tinned fish, estimated at 7 billion FCFA (about US$14 million), for school rations.
