16 million dollar aid from Japan to Samoa!

The Japanese government will transfer 2.4 billion yen (16 million dollars) to the Pacific island nation of Samoa as development aid.

Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko visited Apia, the capital of Samoa, as part of her tour of Pacific Island countries. There, she met with Samoan Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa to discuss bilateral and regional relations.

According to the statement made after the meeting, the Japanese government set the amount of aid to be provided to Samoa at 2.4 billion yen. It was stated that this aid would be used for the development of the National University of Samoa.

Mata'afa and Kamikawa also discussed preparations for the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM), which will be held in Tokyo in July.

The meeting also addressed the process of releasing treated radioactive wastewater accumulated at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in northeastern Japan into the sea. Kamikawa promised that Pacific Island countries would be informed with detailed and science-based explanations regarding the release of the wastewater into the Pacific Ocean.

Kamikawa Yoko became the first Japanese Foreign Minister to visit Samoa. As part of her tour of Pacific Island countries, Kamikawa will meet with ministers and senior officials from 18 member countries of the "Pacific Islands Forum" in Fiji at the beginning of the week.