On February 18, 2020, AmbassadorKARASAWA Akira from the Embassy of Japan formally handed over a fire truck to the Division of Fire and Rescue, Ministry of Justice. The handover ceremony for “The Project for Procurement of Fire Truck and Ambulance to the Republic of Palau” was held at the fire station in Koror, and attended by Vice President and Minister of Justice Raynold B. Oilouch, and other related personnel from the VP office and the MOJ.
The Division of Fire and Rescue is the only institution which can respond to emergency calls in Palau. However, they were unable to provide prompt activities to secure the safety of people due to deteriorated fire trucks.
In order to improve the current situation, the Embassy of Japan and Zao town, which is one of the host towns for the Palauan national team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, worked together to procure vehicles through Japan’s Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP). The Division of Fire and Rescue was granted one ambulance, which has already arrived last September, and now a fire truck finally arrived after the completion of reconditioning and remodeling. Additionally, operational and mechanical training was provided to the Division staff last week.
At the ceremony, Ambassador Karasawa expressed his hope that every staff will learn a lot from the trainings and keep reviewing what they learned even after the trainings are finished so that they can respond to emergency calls promptly and the granted vehicles can be used for a long period of time and contribute to the safe living for the Palauan people.
The Government of Japan launched GGP in 1999, for the purpose of responding to various development needs engaged in grassroots activities in Palau. As of February 20, 2020, the Embassy has signed 81 grant contracts with schools and hospitals as well as state governments and non-profit organizations. Education, health care and environment are the primary fields prioritized by Japan for GGP in order to contribute to the sustainable development of Palau. For further information about GGP, please contact 488-6455 or visit the Embassy of Japan website at http://www.palau.emb-japan.go.jp/itprtop_en/index.html.