Accra, July 6, GNA - Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama on Thursday lauded Japan for forging excellent relations with Ghana, stressing the involvement of the Asian Economic giant in the improvement of the livelihood of rural communities.

Citing the huge amount of money Japan was investing in the construction of the Kasoa-Cape Coast road in the Central Region, he noted that bilateral relations had been excellent in recent times. Vice President Alhaji Mahama was speaking at a meeting with 15 Japanese Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV), who called on him at the Osu Castle.

The young volunteers, who would be assigned to the regions, would be engaged in the teaching of science and mathematics, vocational training skills, youth development and health programmes. Vice President Mahama expressed satisfaction that the volunteers were engaged mainly in the teaching of science and mathematics, which he said was vital to national development efforts. He urged the volunteers to be good ambassadors of Ghana after their two-year duty tour.

The JOCV programme, which started on February 17, 1977, had so far recorded 827 volunteers.