The Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning says Japan’s intervention in Nigeria is currently valued at 416. 3 million dollars.

The ministry said this in a document on ‘Brief for Minister on Japanese Activities in Nigeria’ obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday.

The document said that the assistance came in various forms including technical cooperation, grant aid projects and Yen loans.

It said that the activities of the country in Nigeria were carried out through Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

“The intervention in the country amount to $350.1 million for loans and $46.4 million for grant aid, while technical cooperation amount to $19.8million.”

The document said that the technical assistance involved training of Nigerian public officials in Japan, dispatch of experts from Japan to Nigeria and provision of equipment.

“In every year, 100 to 150 Nigerians are trained in various fields and since the Ebola outbreak in 2014, the number has declined.

“Fifty public servants are currently undergoing Masters degree programmes in various fields in Japan,” the document said.

According to the document, Japan is currently intervening in nine sectors of the economy through grant aid projects.

The sectors are education, health, gender, SMEs, transport, security, power, agriculture and water.

In education, the document said that Japan had supported the construction of classrooms in primary schools in Oyo.

“The preparatory stage for the project was signed in 2014, while the project is ongoing.”

The document said that the Japanese government had supported three health projects, three projects in power sector and four projects in the security sector.

The document described Japan as a reliable ally in Nigeria’s quest for socio-economic development. (NAN)

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