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Iraq

Grassroots human security grant aid to Iraq (Governorate of Al-Muthanna)

  1. Last year, the Government of Japan decided to extend to the Governorate of Al-Muthanna grassroots human security grant aid for the Project for the Rehabilitation of Mahdi-Sawa Road in Al-Muthanna. This project is about to begin on a full scale, and the groundbreaking ceremony took place in the governorate on February 23 (Wed).

2. The basic infrastructure of the Governorate of Al-Muthanna is particularly under-developed compared with other parts of the country, because of the oppression under the former government, the economy battered by the war with Iran, the economic sanctions after the Gulf War and other factors. Roads and bridges are therefore in extremely poor condition, hampering the smooth traffic of water tank trucks or emergency vehicles and directly affecting people's daily lives. School-commuting roads also need to be improved. To remedy such a situation, it has been decided to provide the present assistance (totaling approximately 2,012,000 dollars or about 220 million yen) for the Road and Bridge Department of the Governorate of Al-Muthanna to asphalt Mahdi-Sawa Road (total length: about 20 km).

3. The groundbreaking ceremony, held in the schoolyard of an elementary school beside the Mahdi-Sawa Road, was attended on the Iraqi side by the Director of the Road and Bridge Department of the Governorate of Al-Muthanna, and on the Japanese side by the officials and staff members concerned of the Liaison Office in Samawah of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Japanese Self Defense Forces in Samawah. Local elementary school children who commute by the road expressed their joy at being able to go to school on the improved road and their appreciation for Japan's assistance.

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