Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Wednesday (March 12th) called on Japan to support vocational education initiatives to keep youth away from piracy and for assistance developing Somalia’s marine resources sector.
In an appearance before the Japan National Press Club, Mohamud said he wanted Tokyo to shift its investments in education towards vocational education for young men vulnerable to recruitment by pirates.
“We want the amount of funds that Japan was putting into service delivery like education to be refocused on providing vocational education centres for those young boys so that they become useful members of society,” he said according to Japan’s Kyodo News.
Mohamud also requested Japan’s support for efforts to develop the Somali coastline after a visit to the port of Yokohama and the Japanese coastguard centre.
“We have the longest coastline in Africa and now that the country is recovering from conflict we need to learn how to develop our marine resources profitably and sustainably and also defend our territorial waters,” he said according to a statement from his office. “This visit to Japan helps us lay the foundations for such development guided by international best practice.”
Mohamud also met with leaders of the Nippon Foundation, where they discussed project proposals in the agriculture, livestock, fisheries and marine resources sector.
Via: http://allafrica.com/
