Remarks	   made	   by	   H.E.	   Mr.	   Tewelde	   Kelati	   Minister	   of	   Marine	   Resources	   of	  the	   State	   of	   Eritrea	   on	   Artisanal	   Fisheries	   and	   Fisheries	   Data	   Collection	  Workshop	  8	  Oct.	  2016	  Conference	  Hall	  MMR,	  Massawa	   	  	  Good	  Morning,	  	  First	   of	   all	   let	   me	   welcome	   Mr.	   Sugiyama	   and	   other	   JICA	   officials	   and	   Dear	  Colleagues	   to	   this	   important	   workshop	   with	   the	   Ministry	   of	   Marine	   Resources	   of	  Eritrea	   that	   is	   being	   held	   today.	   From	   the	   onset,	   let	   me	   also	   wish	   success	   to	   this	  important	  meeting	  and	  deliberations	  of	  today.	  	  The	  Government	  of	  Japan,	  in	  response	  to	  the	  Government	  of	  Eritrea's	  requests,	  has	  dispatched	   two	   missions	   on	   the	   fisheries	   sector	   in	   the	   last	   two	   years.	   Our	   Ministry	  is	   pleased	   to	   know	   that	   these	   two	   missions	   found	   in	   their	   findings	   that	   the	  economic	   development,	   the	   young	   fisheries	   and	   aquaculture	   industry	   in	   Eritrea	  promising.	   	  	  TICAD	  V	  Yokohama	  in	  2013	  as	  well	  as	  TICAD	  VI	  Nairobi	  in	  2016	  which	  was	  held	  this	  past	  August	  has	  put	  fisheries	  as	  the	  main	  pillar	  of	  cooperation	  between	  Japan	  and	   African	   countries.	   Blue	   Economy	   cooperation	   has	   also	   been	   highlighted	   as	   one	  of	  the	  primary	  targeted	  cooperation	  In	  this	  plan.	   	   	  	  As	   you	   well	   know,	   the	   Embassy	   of	   the	   State	   of	   Eritrea	   to	   Japan	   has	   continuously	  been	   coordinating	   to	   build	   a	   bridge	   of	   cooperation	   between	   the	   Ministry	   of	  Agriculture,	  Forestry	  and	  Fisheries	  of	  Japan	  and	  our	  Ministry	  of	  Marine	  Resources	  of	  Eritrea.	   	   	  	  I	  have	  also	  exchanged	  with	  H.E.	  Mr.	  Koya	  NISHIKAWA	  Ex-­‐Minister	  of	  Agriculture,	  Forestry	  and	  Fisheries	  of	  Japan	  message	  of	  goodwill	  and	  intentions	  to	  cooperate	  on	  December	  2014.	   	  	  I	   hope	   these	   and	   other	   subsequent	   high	   level	   meetings	   with	   President	   Isaias	   of	  Eritrea	  and	  other	  officials	  held	  here	  in	  Asmara	  and	  Tokyo	  in	  2014	  and	  2015	  have	  also	   paved	   the	   way	   and	   built	   enough	   trust	   for	   our	   future	   cooperation	   of	   building	  mutual	  partnerships	  on	  this	  important	  component	  of	  our	  economies	  to	  grow.	  	  On	   the	   invitation	   and	   coordination	   of	   H.E.	   Mr.	   Estifanos	   Afeworki	   Ambassador	   of	  Eritrea	  to	  Japan,	  a	  fisheries	  survey	  mission	  was	  conducted	  by	  two	  Japanese	  experts	  from	  Overseas	  Agro-­‐Fisheries	  Consultants	  Ltd.	  From	  24	  to	  28	  September	  2014.	  In	  this	  mission,	  taking	  into	  account	  relevance,	  practicality	  and	  possibilities	  of	  projects	  that	   can	   be	   taken	   by	   the	   Government	   of	   Japan	   for	   financing,	   priority	   areas	   have	  been	  identified	  in	  fisheries	  and	  aquaculture	  cooperation	  to	  help	  in	  this	  important	  process	  of	  understanding.	  	  Therefore,	  subsequent	  to	  the	  above	  mentioned	  efforts,	  it	  has	  been	  agreed	  by	  both	  sides	   to	   kick	   start	   once	   again	   the	   technical	   cooperation	   in	   the	   sector	   of	   fisheries	  and	  other	  related	  marine	  activities.	   	  	  A	   master	   plan	   study	   for	   fisheries,	   aquaculture	   and	   management	   with	   the	  participation	  of	  experts	  from	  JICA,	  MMR	  and	  other	  stakeholders	  was	  also	  agreed	  to	  be	  conducted	  to	  serve	  as	  a	  base	  line	  in	  this	  cooperation.	  This	  will	  of	  course	  involve,	  as	  we	  all	  know,	  analysis	  of	  the	  existing	  situation,	  market,	  ecology,	  fish	  stock	  studies	  and	   experimental	   operations	   to	   enhance	   and	   develop	   the	   capacity	   of	   the	   sector	   i.e.	  
to	  make	   it	   conducive	   for	   short	   and	  long	  term	  tie-­‐ups	   with	   Foreign	   Direct	   and	   Local	  Investments.	   	  	  These	   continued	   endeavours	   will	   definitely	   contribute	   into	   creating	   economic	  development	  and	  to	  furthering	  employment	  opportunities	  in	  Eritrea.	   	  	  It	   is	   the	   Ministry	   of	   Marine	   Resources	   hope	   and	   wish	   that	   todays	   workshop	   and	  deliberations	   will	   also	   incorporate	   the	   Government	   of	   Eritrea's	   prioritized	  assistant	   request	   to	   the	   Government	   of	   Japan	   of	   2015	   i.e.	   The	   Project	   to	   the	  Expansion	   and	   Improvement	   of	   the	   College	   of	   Marine	   Science	   Technology	   in	   the	  Port	  of	  Massawa.	  	  It	   is	   also	   hoped	   after	   study	   is	   completed,	   a	   final	   master	   plan	   on	   the	   selected	  sub-­‐sector	   will	   be	   drawn.	   Based	   on	   pilot	   projects	   agreed	   and	   implemented	   on	  ground	   -­‐	   a	   mutually	   agreed	   parallel	   activities	   will	   be	   carried	   out	   to	   build	   the	  needed	   capacity	   of	   the	   sector	   towards	   a	   sustainable	   resource	   management,	  fishermen	   and	   aquaculture	   development	   projects	   as	   a	   sub-­‐components	   of	   the	  study.	  	  In	   conclusion,	   let	   me	   say	   and	   state	   in	   brief	   here	   that	   the	   Ministry	   of	   Marine	  Resources	  of	  Eritrea	  is	  of	  a	  strong	  believe:	  that	  in	  view	  of	  the	  long	  and	  short	  term	  interest	   and	   in	   line	   with	   the	   natural	   give-­‐and-­‐take	   relationships	   that	   shall	   exist	   for	  many	   years	   to	   come	   in	   areas	   of	   trade,	   investment,	   tourism	   and	   other	   mutual	  interest	  partnerships	  programs	  between	  our	  friendly	  countries,	  FDI	  from	  Japan	  Is	  targeted	   to	   participate	   in	   the	   rehabilitation	   and	   rebirth	   of	   the	   fisheries	   sector	   of	  our	  country.	  	  Thank	  you	  and	  wish	  you	  success	  once	  again,