On April 4, Minister Steven Víctor of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment (MAFE) and Chief Representative Aoki Tsunenori of JICA Palau Office signed a Record of Discussion (RD) at the Office of the President in the One Stop Shop building to launch a new cooperation, “The Project for Formulating a Master Plan for Fisheries Industry Development”. The signing of RD was witnessed by H. E. President Surangel Whipps, Jr. and H. E. Ambassador Orikasa Hiroyuki.
Under this project, JICA will support MAFE for two years to formulate a development plan for the fisheries sector, focusing on offshore pelagic fisheries and nearshore FAD fisheries. The plan will include analysis of the economic and environmental feasibility of developing a new fishing port, which may serve as a basis for consideration of possible support by Japan on the development of fishing port.
Project preparation will now commence based on the signing of the RD, and the planning process is expected to officially start in August 2025. Then, the mid-term report including consideration of the fishing port development plan will be submitted by July2026 and the completed Master Plan will be finalized by July 2027.