Mr Masamitsu Hiroumi, Senior Vice President of the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), on Wednesday said Ghana was one of the most important strategic partners for Japanese assistance to Africa.

He said this was based on the recognition that Ghana had made steady progress in democratisation and economic reforms thereby playing an important role in the West Africa sub-region. Mr Hiroumi was briefing newsmen after he had paid a courtesy call on President John Agyekum Kufuor at the Castle, Osu.

He said Japan's major assistance to Ghana was in agriculture, education, health, provision of potable water, infrastructure such as roads and rural electrification, economic reforms and private sector development.

Mr Hiroumi pledged Japan's support in the form of grants and technical co-operation under JICA activities in Ghana. JICA's co-operation and activities with Ghana began in 1977 and so far 750 volunteers have been sent to Ghana. There are 45 of them currently working in the country.

Their activities are centred on four main areas: Science, Technology and Mathematics Education (STME) project to improve on the teaching capacity of teachers in the upper primary and junior secondary school levels.

The improvement of health in-service training for health workers, research into infectious disease at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) at the University of Ghana, Legon and introduction of irrigated agricultural systems.