Japan hails Bingu

BY JONAH PANKUKU

Japanese Ambassador to Malawi, Motoyoshi Noro, on
Friday hailed President Bingu wa Mutharika for sound leadership, which
he said, had contributed to strong international relations between
Malawi and Japan.



Noro was speaking in Lilongwe on Friday at a certificate awarding
ceremony to Japanese volunteers that completed their work of supporting
Malawians in different fields.



He said Japan was delighted to be associated with Malawi, whose leader
had a vision to uplift the lives of people in the country.



He said Japan would continue rendering its support to the country for it to achieve its developmental goals.



"The state president has proved to be visionary and development
oriented. This is true with the two awards that he has received.



“I've never seen such a great leader in Africa. He is even recognised world wide for his vision to develop Malawi," said Noro.



The ambassador praised the Malawi Government for being the first in
Africa to recognise the important role that the Japanese volunteers
were doing.



He revealed that Malawi was the largest recipient of Japanese volunteers in the world.



Noro attributed this to peace and tranquillity existing in the country,
saying they would not be free to render their help to a war torn
country.



"Though politicians quarrel, they don't shoot one another. It's only
verbal wars and I can say there is political stability in the country,"
he said.



In his remarks, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Henri Mumba said the
presentation of the certificates symbolised deep gratitude and
appreciation to the government and people of Japan for the partnership
that existed between the two countries.



"Through these dedicated individuals, there has been effective transfer
of technology, lasting friendships between the volunteers and people of
Malawi and strong cultural and traditional bonds have been formed,"
said Mumba.



He thanked Japan for its continued support to Malawi in areas such as
social-economic development sectors of health, education, agriculture,
balance of payment and infrastructure.



One of the volunteers said she hoped Malawians would benefit a lot from knowledge they had imparted on them.



Japanese Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) sends volunteers in
developing countries to accord opportunities to qualified young
Japanese nationals to share their technical expertise.



In Malawi, the programme began in July 1971 following the signing of a Technical Cooperation Agreement between Japan and Malawi.