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5 October, 2009 11:54 AM
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| Newsletter No. 1405
MODEST STRENGTHENING OF THE JAPAN-YEMEN ALIGNMENT I had speculated many months ago that the issue of Somali piracy might have the result of helping to consolidate bilateral relations between Japan and Yemen. As we noted in Shingetsu Newsletter No. 1141, Japan was considering the possibility of offering training to the Yemeni coast guard or perhaps building a regional center to combat piracy. However, since that report in September of last year, we have heard little more about these ideas. I don’t know if these plans are moving forward or not. In April, there were a couple of reports about Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) activities in this sphere. These projects, however, seem to be aimed less at enhancing security than reducing the local economic impact of piracy. For example, there was talk of a project to support traditional Yemeni fishermen technically and financially by setting up solar-powered factories for producing ice in the fishermen’s villages and constructing an aquaculture farm. It seems that Japan’s anti-piracy campaign has based itself primarily in Djibouti on the East African coast rather than in Yemen, as I had originally expected. This is not to say that the piracy issue isn’t bringing Japan and Yemen closer together, but the effect may be somewhat more modest than initially believed.
There have been a few stories on Japan-Yemen economic and energy relations in the past nine months. The Mitsubishi Corporation is said to be interested in developing Yemen’s natural gas fields, although it is not clear exactly what role it will play. So far, Mitsubishi’s role has been to build three LNG tankers for Yemen, the latest of which was delivered last December. In March, the Saba News Agency reported that Toyota and Suzuki were keen to establish bases in the Aden Free Zone (AFZ) for the purpose of exporting vehicles to African and other nearby countries. It does not appear, however, that a firm agreement was reached. One thing that does appear certain is that Yemeni officials are trying hard to attract the interest of Japanese companies. Marwan Noman, Yemen’s ambassador to Japan, attended last September an International Travel Exhibition being organized by Japanese Association of Travel Agents, which featured a Yemeni national exhibition. In March, Chairman of the General Investment Authority Salah al-Attar came to Tokyo as head of the Yemeni delegation to the Investment Promotion Forum for the Middle East and South Africa. Al-Attar, as well as Chairman of the Aden Free Zone Abdul Jalail al-Shuaibi, called on Japanese companies to invest in their country. One area in which the efforts of Yemeni officials appear to have been successful is that they seem to have gained Japanese support for Yemen’s accession into the World Trade Organization (WTO). Japanese Ambassador to Yemen Masakazu Toshikage reportedly assured his counterparts in April that Tokyo now favors Yemen’s inclusion in the organization.
The Saba News Agency produces many, many small reports on Japan-Yemen relations, and one name that appears with remarkable frequency is JICA. There can be little doubt that JICA is very much a key player in this particular bilateral relationship. In fact, when Kenichi Sasaki, the local JICA director, left Yemen in early April, he was given a farewell meeting with Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Abd al-Karim Ismail al-Arhabi, and this was covered in a media report. The following is a summary of the JICA projects that have been highlighted in the official Yemeni media in the past nine months.
Projects to make more effective use of Yemen’s water resources appear to be high on the agenda. There several reports about negotiations on a new technical cooperation agreement, which was eventually signed in late May. The agreement included intensifying a training program to promote modern irrigation techniques and improving irrigation services. Also, there was a separate agreement signed in mid-March calling for JICA to prepare studies and designs of nineteen water projects to be set up in Taiz, Dhamar, Sanaa, and Mahweet.
A good number of stories relate to education projects. One key initiative is called Broadening Regional Initiative for Developing Girls’ Education (BRIDGE). JICA is supervising, under this framework, fifty-nine schools in the Taiz governorate, using a US$100,000 grant announced last November, although the project seems to have been going on for some time before that. The BRIDGE project was credited with raising the school enrollment rate of girls in the targeted areas. JICA is also involved in various technical educational programs, including one related to automobile maintenance at the Dhahban Industrial Institute in Sanaa. Finally, JICA is assisting in various school-building projects around the country.
JICA also has projects aimed at improving Yemeni healthcare. One focus is healthcare for children and mothers. Another focus is on improving nutrition in the country.
The JICA budget was used to provide aid to the eastern provinces of Hadramout and Maharah after heavy rains created floods last October. The aid materials included fifty family-sized tents, four hundred mattresses and blanket, twenty water filters, and plastic boards.
Some reports on Japanese aid make no mention of JICA. The other areas where Japan has provided aid to Yemen in the past nine months are as follows.
African refugees, mostly from Somalia and Ethiopia, have been arriving in Yemen almost daily. Yemen says the number of refugees who have already reached its territories exceeds 700,000 people. This month, Japan allocated US$1.5 million in aid, channeled through the UN Higher Commissioner for Refugees, to help the Yemeni authorities cope with the influx of African refugees. In April, Japan provided US$5 million in humanitarian assistance to improve the conditions of the African refugees in Yemen. The sum is expected be used to improve the living conditions of the refugees in areas such as food, healthcare, housing, and water supply.
Japanese are assisting Yemen is setting up five thermal power plant in the provinces of Sanaa, Aden, Taiz, and Hodeida. This is part of Japan’s Cool Earth Partnership. The plants will help reduce reliance on traditional energy sources and seek renewable power which does not affect the environment.
One report from last November mentioned that Japan was providing insecticides and machines for spraying pesticides to assist Yemeni agriculture. Another report from last October had Japan providing aid for unspecified agricultural equipment.
A Japanese cultural delegation visited Yemen in February and discussed a project that would aim to conserve Yemen’s historical sites. They are especially seeking to rebuild places damaged by the heavy rains in Hadramout last October.
In January, Japan provided a US$85,000 grant to Yemen for four trucks and twenty waste containers in the Lahj governorate. This aid was meant to improve the area’s waste disposal capabilities.
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