Tuesday, April 01, 2014
Djibouti and Japan signed a 1.6-billion franc ($8,800) grant agreement Sunday (March 30th) for the construction of two patrol boats to boost the capacity of Djibouti's coastguard, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation Mahamoud Ali Youssouf told Sabahi.
The agreement was signed by Youssouf and Japan's Ambassador to Djibouti Atsushi Nishioka.
The two patrol boats, which will have a length of 17 metres, will be built in Japan and are scheduled to be handed over to the Djiboutian government at the end of 2015.
"These patrol boats will help tackle the upsurge in criminal activity on the high seas, including human trafficking, illegal fishing and smuggling of all kinds, and the coastguards will be able to intervene easily to stop these reprehensible acts," Youssouf said. "This plan to supply two patrol boats crowns a fruitful partnership between Japan and Djibouti in the field of maritime security and the battle against piracy."
Japan previously contributed to developing the Djiboutian coastguard service through an International Organisation for Migration programme to supply two 10-metre patrol boats plus radio and auxiliary equipment in 2012. And since May 2013, a Japanese maritime security expert was sent to Djibouti under a Japan International Co-operation Agency technical co-operation programme.