Japan provides US$ 780,000 for demining

Nethali Struys

The Japanese government on Friday donated US$ 780,000 to expedite the demining process in the North. The donation was made to Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) in Sri Lanka to expedite the government’s efforts of making the country free of mines.

Japanese Ambassador Kunio Takahashi and FSD Country Programme Manager Nigel Robinson signed the Agreement with regard to the donation at theJapanese Embassy last Friday.

The Japanese ambassador stated that Japan has supported mine clearance in Sri Lanka to accelerate the return and resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and to facilitate the restart of agriculture and other livelihood activities of them. The ambassador pointed out that since 2003, the Japanese government provided a USD 21.5 million for demining under its grant assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects.