RIYADH, 29 June 2007 — The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) — an apex organization of the Japanese government that is responsible for implementing technical projects in foreign countries — has named Ryuichi Tomizawa as its new resident representative for Saudi Arabia.
Tomizawa, who has worked in different positions at JICA, has arrived in the Kingdom with a mandate to further expand Saudi-Japanese technical cooperation. JICA, according to Tomizawa, seeks to expand relations particularly in the fields of energy, training, water and sewage.
“JICA has organized a major 20-day training program under which a 10-member Saudi delegation led by Dr. Ahmed Al-Khalifa, assistant minister of electricity affairs at the Ministry of Water and Electricity, will visit Japan from July 1,” said the newly-appointed JICA chief here.
“This will be a tailor-made training program focusing on measures for energy efficiency and conservation,” said the JICA chief.
He added that Saudi officials had been invited by JICA to prepare a study on energy conservation in the Kingdom’s power sector. Saudi officials attending the training program have already attended an orientation session about their trip to Japan.
JICA seeks to execute various technical cooperation schemes for Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) in a number of countries. The Kingdom and Japan began cooperating in technology in 1975 following the signing of an economic and technical cooperation agreement between the two governments.
JICA has so far sent thousands of Saudi officials for training in Japan under its own scholarship programs. It is currently working with various Saudi ministries and government agencies on a number of projects.
