Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Mizukoshi Hideaki signed the grant contracts of two demining projects under the scheme of “Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects.”
The agreements were signed with Mines Advisory Group and HALO Trust.
The Government of Japan has provided a total sum of US$ 729,925 (approx. Rs. 238 million) for these two projects with MAG and the HALO Trust to extend its support for humanitarian demining activities in the Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka.
Japan has been a major donor in demining activities in Sri Lanka since 2002, and the total amount of assistance exceeds US$ 44 million.
It is expected that these projects by MAG and HALO will together contribute to resettlement and livelihood support for a total of 10,977 IDPs (internally displaced people) in the Northern and Eastern provinces.
The development of the conflict-affected areas is one of the priority areas of Japan’s official development assistance policy to Sri Lanka.
Ambassador Mizukoshi strongly reiterated that the Government of Japan has been committing its role as a leading donor in demining activities and will continue to provide the necessary support to achieve “Mine-Impact-Free Sri Lanka”