Gabela – At least 246,900 US dollars have been invested by Japan in the last 15 months in demining actions in central Cuanza Sul Province, the Japanese ambassador to Angola, Jiro Maruhashi, said Wednesday in the town of Gabela, centre-west Cuanza Sul Province.
Speaking to the press, during the destruction of non-detonated explosive devices in Calonga (Assango), the Japanese diplomat added that his country will continue to support the demining programme in Angola to aid it get rid of mines from its soil.
"Angola is a country with fertile lands, but unfortunately many areas are mined, so we will give all the necessary support so that agriculture can develop, with the return of people to the fields to produce food", the diplomat said.
The Japanese diplomat added that, besides demining, his country intends to support agricultural projects in Cuanza Sul Province.
On the occasion, the representative of APOPO, an NGO dedicated to demining, Manuel Agostinho, said that the financing from Japan allowed to reinforce qualified human resources, such as mine clearance agents, mine detection dog and rat trainers, and team leaders, which contributed to the increase of employability and the reinforcement of the intervention capacity.
He recalled that the project funded by the Japanese government ran from February 2021 to November 2022, in partnership with the National Institute for Demining (INAD), under the supervision of the National Mine Action Agency.
Data from the National Mine Action Agency indicate that Cunza Sul is the fourth most mined province in Angola with 114 mined areas and 9,000,000 contaminated square meters.
