- Japan is a long-term supporter of the Republic of North Macedonia in the area of the environment, and maintaining and strengthening cooperation at the local level also contributes to the socio-economic development of local communities, as this time is the example with the municipality of Rankovce, – emphasized the Minister of Environment and Physical Planning Kaja Shukova in the welcome speech at the signing ceremony of grant projects under the Japanese Program for Small Grants for Basic Needs and Human Security for the fiscal year 2023.
At the ceremony, the Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of North Macedonia, His Excellency Otsuka Kazuya, signed five contracts for new grant projects with three public health institutions, one primary school, and one municipality, worth more than 300,000 EUR.
One of the projects is the procurement of utility equipment (vehicles) for the Municipality of Rankovce, which helps in providing the necessary equipment for the establishment of a sustainable waste management system.
With these five projects, Japan continues to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of the citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia by providing better health services in public health institutions, improving the educational environment in primary schools and kindergartens, and supporting municipalities to ensure a healthier environment.
The year marks the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and North Macedonia. Japan, as Ambassador Kazuya said, has so far donated about 9.2 million euros to various projects in our country through the Japanese program for small grants for basic needs and human security. In the area of the environment, the previous cooperation took place through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the significant project activity is the preparation of the Sustainability Study for the modernization and construction of the collector system for Lake Ohrid and the upgrade of the existing Wastewater treatment plant in Vranishta.
In addition to the signatories, the ceremony was attended by the first deputy of the President of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia in Charge of European Affairs, Bojan Maricic, the Minister of Health, Fatmir Medziti, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bujar Osmani, who sent a video message.