By Saidu Jalloh, reporter D.S
Minister of Planning and Economic Development Kenyeh Barlay has called for expanded technical training and new partnerships with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) during a courtesy meeting with its new Resident Representative in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on Tuesday, 17 June 2026.
Barlay hosted Mr. Satoru Matsuyama at the Ministry’s offices, where both sides reaffirmed longstanding cooperation between Sierra Leone and Japan and discussed ways to align JICA support with national development priorities.
The Minister thanked Japan for its sustained backing of Sierra Leone’s development agenda, citing JICA’s role in building institutional capacity within the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development (MoPED) and across government. She noted that many current MoPED officials and public servants are graduates of JICA-funded academic and professional programmes, including Master’s and PhD studies, and now lead work in policy planning, development coordination, public investment, rural development, research, and aid management.
Commending JICA’s investment in human capital, Barlay requested an increase in the annual quota for long-term training slots and more opportunities for specialized PhD and short-term professional courses. She highlighted urgent needs for expertise in development research, policy evaluation, poverty assessment, development finance, data analytics, artificial intelligence for planning, and integrating climate and gender into planning processes.
Barlay also proposed collaboration to adapt Japan’s “One Village, One Product” (OVOP) model to Sierra Leone’s chiefdom planning system. She said the approach could spur local economic growth, drive community-based enterprises, and attract investment to priority sectors.
In response, Matsuyama expressed appreciation for the reception and reaffirmed JICA’s commitment to Sierra Leone’s sustainable development. He arrived in the country on 6 May 2026 and said he was impressed by government initiatives to advance good governance and local development.
Matsuyama outlined JICA’s ongoing portfolio, including electricity distribution expansion along the Freetown Peninsula and support to the health sector through the construction of Lumley Hospital, technical assistance to health institutions, and development of the Mother and Child Health Handbook.
Both parties closed the meeting by pledging to deepen cooperation and identify new partnerships focused on capacity building, local governance, rural development, climate resilience, and inclusive economic growth.
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