(Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) - Fourteen CARICOM Member States are expected to benefit from a Japan-funded grant aid programme intended to address industrial sector vulnerabilities.

Japan and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) signed an agreement for a 730-million-yen project titled “Project for Industrial Development and Technology Transfer in Member States of the Caribbean Community.”

The Signing Ceremony. Photo credit - Cabinet Public Affairs Office of Japan

The agreement was signed by the Director-General, International Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Mr. Ishizuki Hideo, and UNIDO's Head, Ms. Adachi Fumio, following the Eighth CARICOM-Japan Ministerial Conference in Tokyo on 14 December.

The signing was witnessed by Japan's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Iwaya Takeshi; Chair of the CARICOM Council for Foreign, Community Relations, Dr. Vince Henderson, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Dominica, other CARICOM Foreign Ministers and officials.

This initiative will provide equipment, technical cooperation, and training to CARICOM countries, focusing on water, agribusiness, and industrial diversification, aligning with Japan’s CARICOM Policy on sustainable development and overcoming vulnerabilities of Small Island Developing States.