Kathmandu, April 1: Japan places its highest priority towards uplifting the socio-economic status of Nepalese rural people while providing small grant assistance to Nepal under its Grass Root Development Projects (GGP).

“Under small grant aid scheme, we put our emphasis on the social sector and give highest priority to provide self sufficiency of Nepalese rural areas in agriculture, schools and community health centres,” Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Mitsuaki Kojima told the media persons in an interaction programme at the Japanese Embassy.

“The assistance is also meant to allow Nepal achieve self sufficiency and sustainability in the promotion of agriculture and health condition of Nepalese people and environment, “Kojima said.

The Japanese ambassador further said that while implementing such projects for the agriculture sector, income generation aspects are also taken under consideration because they are the most conducive way in reducing the poverty of the rural people of Nepal.

Kojima said that sericulture, high quality vegetables and fruits will be our targets and we will try to link them with good market through best distribution system to garner some effective results from the Japanese GGP to Nepal. “We are doing this to help bring more economic empowerment to the rural people,” he added.

However, Ambassador Kojima emphasised that Japanese assistance to rural areas development does not mean to overlook Japanese ODA to Nepal’s other sectors.

In the thirty year’s history of the bilateral aid, Japan, the number one donor for the Nepal and for the world, has been providing its co-operation in Nepal’s socio-infrasturcture development sector, agriculture sector and to Nepalese people’s basic human needs such as education, primary and health sectors.

With its humanitarian considerations and wish to support  self-help efforts in Nepal, the Government of Japan has provided its assistance to Nepal, which has, in the recent years, has gone up to 1,407 million US dollars making the Himalayan Kingdom the 16th largest recipient of the Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA). All this Japanese assistance comes in three categories—grant assistance, loan assistance and technical cooperation.

Out of 228.764 billion Yen of total Japanese assistance to Nepal, 137.93 billion Yen has come as grant assistance while 58.39 billion Yen has been  provided as loan assistance and 32.43 billion Yen as technical cooperation.

Most of the Japanese economic assistance have  gone towards the   socio-infrasturcture development that includes  rural telecommunication network, modernisation of  Tribhuwan International Airport, Kulekhani Hydro-Power Project, rural electrification project, construction of bus terminal in Kathmandu and Sindhuli road and institution facilities of water induced disaster prevention centre.

Likewise, the Japanese aid has also been provided to the basic human need sector that comprises construction and facilitation of the Tribhuwan University Teaching Hospital, National Tuberculosis Centre, construction and expansion of Kanti Children’s Hospital and construction and rehabilitation of school facilities in the various parts of Nepal.

The cooperation in agriculture has been provided for increasing of food production, expanding horticulture and natural water fisheries development and sericulture.

The Japanese loan assistance over the years, which amount to 58.39 billion   Yen, has been concentrated in the construction and maintenance of Kulekhani Hydro-Power Project and also for the construction of the Udaypur Cement Factory.

Apart from assistance to the socio-infrastructure development, Japan has been helping Nepal by extending grant assistance to the grassroots projects for the promotion of the primary health and education, poverty relief, public welfare and conservation of the environment. Under this scheme, 56 projects were launched in the country from Japanese fiscal year of 1992 to 1999 at the cost of 1.95 million US dollars.

Moreover, Japan has extended its cooperation in twenty big and mini projects that include agriculture, water resources social and industry sectors under the bilateral agreement of technical cooperation.  In the agriculture sector, horticulture, fisheries and sericulture development programmes received Japanese technical assistance in manpower training, services of Japanese experts and volunteers.

Currently, fifty Japanese Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) are working in the different sectors. The number of Japanese volunteers coming to Nepal has been growing gradually. Japan also accepts Nepalese to be trained in Japan in its attempt to strengthening  the capacity of the Nepalese man-power and human resources.   About 2,500 Nepalese have already been trained in Japan under the technical cooperation programme. This year, Japan is expecting 150 to 160 Nepalese trainees to be facilitated with expertise they need back in Nepal to assist the various development programme.

All these programmes are directed to help Nepal achieve self-sufficiency, task of nation building and the well being of Nepalese people, said Ambassador Kojima.

He  said: “Japan also needs good collaboration from Nepalese counterparts in implementing Japan aided projects. If we fail to receive Nepalese help, the Japanese assistance will not yield good results.”

Ambassador Kojima said that if any drawback is seen while implementing the Japan aided projects, “we will certainly pull back our assistance from the sectors where the drawbacks are witnessed.”

Replying to the queries regarding the corruption in big projects in Nepal, Kojima also said that Japanese assistance is not susceptible to corruption. “We do not see any form of irregularities,” he said.

The beauty of our bilateral pact is that both sides remain aware of the irregularities at such projects, he said. Japanese Embassy in Nepal can take responsibilities of any irregular activities being done by the Japanese contractors working in Nepal, Koijima said “The Nepalese side is also doing fine in the Japan-aided projects being run in Nepal,” he added.

The Japanese Embassy’s First Secretary of Economic Affairs, Hideyuki Onishi said that the Japanese ODA is the money of Japanese taxpayers.

“We think that Nepal’s problems is our problems but both Nepalese and Japanese side should be aware that the Japanese tax-payers’ money should not go in vain,” Onishi said earlier in a workshop on Japanese ODA Projects. He said that effective monitoring is needed to control corruption.

Onishi said that the Japanese assistance should mainly be focussed in the rural areas and towards the capacity building in government, social and market sectors.

Another Japanese expert Dr. Masamine Jimba said that over the past few years the Japanese trends in providing assistance have changed.

After 1990, the Japanese assistance is directed more towards the community health services in far flung rural areas rather than building of big hospitals, Jimba said.

He said that there should be a systematic approach to work with Nepalese non-government organisations, which can work in remote areas of Nepal