Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Japan and Libya have agreed to cooperate in capacity building and reaffirmed their close relations on March 18.

During a courtesy call, both Japan’s State Minister of Defense Yasuhide Nakayama and Charge D’Affaires of the State of Libya Dr. Ahmed Naili,welcomed the approval of the Government of National Unity by the House of Representative in Libya on March 10.

 In a productive meeting, they discussed bilateral relations, especially ways of cooperation, and promoting capacity building programs for Libyans in a variety of fields, Dr. Naili, told Arab News Japan.

Libya’s foreign minister visited Japan in 2019, and Thursday’s follow-up meeting took place to reinforce bilateral efforts to develop relations between the two countries, he said.

 Japan opened its embassy in Libya in 1973, while Libya opened an embassy in Japan in 1971.

 According to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo, Libya was added to the Official Development Assistance list in December 2005 and technical cooperation continued until 2014.

 Due to the unstable situation in Libya in 2014, technical cooperation was temporarily suspended. In FY2018, Japan decided to accept Libyan students as participants of the ABE Initiative (African Business Education Initiative for Youth). Also, Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) and Japan Center for Cooperation Petroleum (JCCP) resumed capacity building programs.

 Since the outbreak of civil war in 2011, Japan has continued with its assistance for Libya through international organizations. In FY2018, Japan provided support for economic reconstruction and food assistance through UNDP ($2.41 million) and WFP ($800,000). This month too, Japan extended further support.