JICA signs a Memorandum of Cooperation with IDB Invest

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1 The JICA USA Newsletter is a bi-monthly publication which provides information on JICA s activities in Washington, DC and around the world. If you are interested in receiving this electronic newsletter, please contact jicaus-newsletter@jica.go.jp to be added to our mailing list. In this issue: JICA signs a Memorandum of Cooperation with IDB Invest The JOCV and U.S. Peace Corps extend their MOU to continue partnership Keiichiro Nakazawa talks South Asia at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation Jun Saotome and Yoichi Shio join as Senior Representatives of JICA USA JICA signs a Memorandum of Cooperation with IDB Invest On March 25, during the Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed its first-ever Memorandum of Cooperation with the IDB Group s private sector institution, the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IDB Invest). The new MOC formalizes the two agencies shared efforts to increase their collaboration in areas such as technical assistance and co-financing of projects in developing countries across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Through this enhanced partnership, JICA and IDB Invest will closely collaborate to ensure more effective, beneficial development assistance is provided to the LAC region, with specific focus on quality infrastructure, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the adaptation and mitigation of climate change. The new agreement, which was signed by JICA Senior Vice President Shigeru Maeda, the IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno, and the Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of IDB Invest CEO James P. Scriven, builds upon the longstanding collaboration between JICA and the IDB Group to promote financing for quality infrastructure projects in the LAC region under the Co-financing for Renewable Energy and Efficiency (CORE) program. By strengthening the cooperation of these two agencies, JICA and IDB Invest JICA Vice President Maeda (left) signing the Memorandum of Cooperation between JICA and IDB Invest hope to further crowd in private sector investment finance as a vehicle to expand development impacts in the LAC region, especially on shared priority projects like the development of quality infrastructure.

2 Developing countries across the LAC region have witnessed steady economic growth in recent years, making the involvement of private sector financing vital in responding to the socio-economic development needs of these countries. In a reality where Official Development Assistance (ODA) from donor countries are not expected to grow at the rate necessary to deliver on developing country needs, mobilizing new capital resources from the private sector has become ever more crucial in the quest toward sustainable development. Nevertheless, private companies in many countries throughout the LAC region have faced difficulty in accessing long-term financing from general financial institutions because of high levels of risk and high country risk premiums. Therefore, through JICA s strengthened partnership with IDB Invest, JICA looks forward to working hand-in-hand with the IDB s private sector institution, which has strong track record of carrying out private sector financing in the LAC region, to mobilize private sector resources to leverage new sources of capital for essential projects. Specifically, the MOC will improve the harmonization of JICA and IDB processes to better develop and cofinance new projects through more frequent consultations, as well as the expansion of their shared work. The JOCV and U.S. Peace Corps extend their MOU to continue partnership On March 19, the Japan International Cooperation Agency s Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) and the U.S. Peace Corps agreed to continue their operational partnership by signing a document to extend a Memorandum of Understanding originally signed in The Two JOCVs teaching Rwandan students about Japanese culture Memorandum of Understanding recognizes the complementarities of JICA s JOCV Program and the Peace Corp s work and sets out to improve the efficiency and efficacy of their volunteers activities through information exchanges and by co-hosting seminars, training programs, and other events. As two of the largest government sponsored volunteer programs dispatching citizens to developing countries, JICA s JOCV Program and the Peace Corps have significant overlap in both the sectors and countries in which they operate. Currently, JICA and the Peace

3 Corps have dispatched volunteers in 48 of the same countries, of which they have collaborations in place in 35 of them. In total, JICA s JOCV Program operates in 77 countries across the world, and the U.S. Peace Corps operates in 65 countries. Since the signing of the previous Memorandum of Understanding between JICA s JOCV Program and the Peace Corps, the two have worked diligently to facilitate economic and social development in their volunteers dispatched countries at the grassroots level. In particular, girls primary and secondary education namely working with schools, communities, and educational administration to improve the learning environment has been one of the key areas of collaboration between the two volunteer programs. Additionally, JICA and the Peace Corps have held regular consultations and meetings in Cambodia, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Indonesia, Mongolia, Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, and Tonga, as well as having hosted numerous joint seminars and trainings in countries like Mongolia to share information about their respective programs. Furthermore, there have been additional ad hoc collaborations that have taken place between the JOCV Program and the U.S. Peace Corps, especially during times of need. Last year, after Hurricane Maria devastated much of the Caribbean, the U.S. Peace Corps assisted in the safe evacuation of JOCVs from the island of Dominica by providing an extra speedboat for their travels to St. Lucia. In other instances, JOCVs have provided timely information Emblem of the U.S. Peace Corps to the Peace Corps on medical systems, safety precautions, and local living expenses in areas where the Peace Corps volunteers were considering resuming operations Through the close relationship that the JOCVs and Peace Corps volunteers have built in the field, JICA and the Peace Corps have been able to expand the efficiency of their volunteer activities. In the years ahead, JICA looks forward to continuing to build on the momentum afforded by the extension of the Memorandum of Understanding to deepen its partnership with the U.S. Peace Corps.

4 Keiichiro Nakazawa talks South Asia at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation On Monday, April 16, the Director-General of the South Asia Department and former Chief Representative of the JICA USA Office, Keiichiro Nakazawa, gave a presentation on South Asia s development trajectory in the context of ongoing power feuds between China and India. The event, which was hosted by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation at their U.S. satellite office, discussed opportunities for South Asia to leverage the rivalry between the two states to enhance the region s connectivity, and thereby create a more stable, prosperous region for the years to come. To start off the presentation, Mr. Nakazawa provided a holistic picture of the region by explaining the discrepancy facing South Asia today. On one hand, he highlighted that the region s GDP growth is raising rapidly, coupled with a very young population to support further opportunities for economic expansion. On the other hand, he explained South Asia still suffers from very low levels of economic integration, with only five percent of its total trade, and less Keiichiro Nakazawa (center) presents on South Asian development photo credit: Sasakawa Peace Foundation than one percent of its investment, taking place in the region. Additionally, he added that regional institutions and platforms meant to improve regional trade, like the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), have largely failed, and despite economic improvements, around 224 million people still live in extreme poverty. With that as the backdrop, the presentation outlined several examples of how China and India have been vying for territorial control over the region, and how the flood of investments by these two countries can help South Asia improve its economic integration for its own benefit. From attempts by China and India to court countries like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the Maldives with transport deals and construction projects that aim to push out the other, Nakazawa showcased that if guided correctly, the two countries power struggle can serve to benefit the region through not only improvements in cross-border infrastructure, but also through enhanced regional trade and investment to bring about peace and stability. Additionally, he highlighted specific examples of contentious actions conducted by China and India against each other, including

5 China s determination to form a network of military and commercial facilities from mainland China to the Port of Sudan along the Indian Ocean, as well as India s efforts to discredit and boycott China s landmark Belt and Road Initiative. Given this difficult context, the Director-General explained that JICA is dedicated to helping South Asia navigate and productively channel the rivalry between the two countries by focusing on efforts to enhance human security and connectivity throughout the region. Underscoring JICA s continued commitment to provide South Asia with loans for transportation infrastructure and energy projects, Nakazawa explained that South Asia can utilize these investments to spur the region s economy through increased trade. He also added that South Asia should take cues from the ASEAN countries and other regional platforms to learn from their lessons to better position itself for prosperous growth. While discussing JICA s work, the Director-General also highlighted some of JICA s prominent technical assistance projects in the region, including a project to provide electoral support for democratic governance Keiichiro Nakazawa (far right) fields questions from participants in Nepal, as well as a capacity building program that strengthens and enhances the skills of government officials in Afghanistan. While emphasizing the importance of JICA s continue support to the region, Nakazawa also stressed that JICA itself should apply the lessons it has learned from its own experiences working ASEAN, to then transfer its best practices to the South Asian context. In concluding his remarks, the Director-General reiterated the importance of ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific where all parties are eligible to use and access the region s infrastructure. Through this statement, Nakazawa expressed JICA s hope that China will join forces with the United States and India to realize these shared ideals. Jun Saotome and Yoichi Shio join as Senior Representatives of JICA USA JICA USA is pleased to welcome two of its newest staff members to the Washington D.C. office. Mr. Jun Saotome and Mr. Yoichi Shio have both joined the JICA USA team as Senior Representatives.

6 Mr. Jun Saotome was assigned to serve as a Senior Representative of the JICA USA Office on October 10, In his new role, he serves as the primary liaison to DC-based international financial institutions. He also coordinates collaborative research projects and seminars with think tanks. Mr. Saotome started his career working in Nagoya, Japan at one of JICA s 14 domestic centers where he planned and managed training courses for officials from developing countries. After moving to JICA Headquarters, he primarily focused on technical cooperation projects in the field of trade and investment and was later seconded to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry where he promoted private sector engagement for Official Development Assistance (ODA). Mr. Saotome has significant experience in infrastructure development in Asian countries where he spent more than three years in Vietnam and another three years working with the Indonesian government at headquarters. Previously, he served as the Deputy Director in the Cabinet Secretariat, promoting the export of high quality infrastructure to meet global needs. Mr. Saotome holds a Master s degree in International and Development Economics from the Australian National University and a BA in Economics from Hitotsubashi University. Mr. Shio was appointed as a new Senior Representative of the JICA USA Office on April 1, Mr. Yoichi Shio Senior Representative, JICA USA Throughout his career at JICA, Mr. Shio has mainly worked in the field of legal affairs and law and development. His recent assignments have included serving as the Director of the Legal Affairs Division within the General Affairs Department and the Director of the Law and Justice Division within the Industrial Development and Public Policy Department. He has rich experience in working on legal technical cooperation projects in Asia, especially within the Indochina region. He also served as a Representative in the JICA Vietnam Office from 2001 to He was educated as a lawyer at both the University of Tokyo (LL.B) and the University of Washington School of Law (LL.M), and he was admitted to the bar in New York.