Japan grants $2.7 million for education

The government of Japan has granted Senegal the equivalent of US $2.699 million for financing school supplies and equipment, Senegalese news agencies reported on Tuesday. The agreement was signed by the Senegalese Minister of the Economy and Finance, Abdoulaye Diop, and Japanese Ambassador to Senegal, Akihiko Furuya, the daily newspaper Le Soleil reported. The programme activities are to focus on the regions of Thies, east of the capital, Dakar; Fatick and Kaolack south of Dakar; and Louga, northeast of Dakar. "This shows once more the essential role that the Japanese government has played in the process of economic and social development in Senegal," news reports quoted Diop as saying. Furuya called on those responsible for the project to manage its affairs properly. Education is a major component of the bilateral cooperation programme between Japan and Senegal, which started in November 1976. Grant-aid by Japan to the West African country started in 1992.