The FINANCIAL — Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Giorgi Gakharia held a meeting with the Chairman of the one of the world’s largest foundations, the NIPPON Foundation, Yōhei Sasakawa. Prospects of cooperation between Georiga and the Foundation were discussed during the meeting.
The Japanese Foundation cooperated with over 100 countries mainly in the marine and transportation sectors and implements significant projects together with over 20 partner-organizations. The Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Giorgi Cherkezishvili noted that now Georgia has the opportunity to cooperate with one of the largest educational organizations. “We are honored to host the NIPPON Foundation, which is one of the leading marine organizations in the world implementing various programs in many different directions. Ten Georgian seafarers were able to participate in the qualification-training program through one of those programs. We hope to expand cooperation with the NIPPON and Dr. Sasakawa in order to establish a training center in Georgia that will provide services for the whole region and the countries of the Eastern Europe” – Giorgi Cherkezishvili noted.
Within the frames of the visit of, the Maritime Transport Agency of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia and the NIPPON Foundation jointly organized the conference on 4 Scholarship Programs for the Black Sea and Caspian Sea region at the Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel. The Conference aims to facilitate and promote the principles of the maritime security and environmental protection, exchange experience and discuss the prospects of future cooperation.
According to Mamuka Akhaladze, the Chairman of the Maritime Transport Agency of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, the interest of the Chairman of the NIPPON Foundation towards Georgia is of outmost importance in terms of the further development of the country. “Yōhei Sasakawa’s visit to Georgia means that our country is a global player in the maritime direction and we represent an interesting country for the Foundation and for Japan in general. The NIPPON has been providing scholarships for higher education at the leading international universities for already 10 years now. The graduates work mainly in the state structures of different countries. The training programs cover the maritime law, general maritime governance, marine technologies, ports and navigation safety, environmental protection, etc. These directions are important for the country since our goal is to establish Georgia as an internationally-developed marine state” – Mamuka Akhaladze said.
Several Georgian citizens already participated in the NIPPON scholarship programs and were enabled to study in such leading marine organizations as International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI), the World Maritime University (WMU), the UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS) and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).
“We have been actively involved in the maritime affairs for more than 30 years all over the world. As a result, we have over 1200 experts from 140 different countries working on the issues related to the sea. When I say the sea, I mean both, the Black and Caspian Seas, which are in the same situation at this point.
The goal of the Conference organized by the Georgian side, is to create a platform for the representatives of 10 different countries around the world to gather and discuss the maritime issues. This is the purpose of my visit. I want to thank everyone for the work done and for paying proper attention to these important issues” – Yōhei Sasakawa stated, according to Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia.
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