President Vicente Fox came to Japan and signed a framework document regarding the "Japan-Mexico Partnership Program," aimed at promoting social and economic development of other developing countries by strengthening Japan-Mexico Tripartite Cooperation. Japan has also given assistance to Japanese emigrants who emigrated from Japan under the emigration project and their descendants in the region. For example, Japan has accepted them as trainees. Furthermore, Japan implemented projects aimed at constructing social and economic infrastructure in the communities of Japanese emigrants and the surrounding area. Such projects include the "Project for Construction of Bridges in the North of the Department of Santa Cruz" in Bolivia and the "Constanza Valley Irrigation Project" in the Dominican Republic.

### 7. Oceania

Japan's ODA given to Oceania on a bilateral basis totaled approximately 52.14 million dollars in 2003, accounting for 0.9% of the total bilateral ODA.

Oceanian countries are neighbors of Japan, which share the Pacific Ocean with us. The peace and prosperity of the region is therefore very important for Japan.

While some countries were under Japanese control after the First World War, Japan and Oceanian countries have strong historical ties and friendly relationships. Some Oceanian countries have elected Japanese descendants as presidents. Furthermore, Oceanian countries are an important support base for Japan at such international arenas as the United Nations. Moreover, having vast EEZs (Exclusive Economic Zones), Oceanian countries provide Japan with key fishing grounds for Japan's deep-sea fishery and serve as a strategically important region for marine transport. In consideration of these situations, Japan will continue to support Oceanian countries as good partners.

The Oceania region has many countries that have won their independence relatively recently. These countries face the urgent task of becoming a self-sustainable country socially as well as economically. The common issues among these countries include small-scale economy, heavy economic dependence on primary industry, geographically dispersed national territory, limited accessibility to the international markets, susceptibility to natural disasters, and risk of losing national territory. In consideration of these issues and the situation of each country, Japan has been providing the region with assistance.

Oceania is divided into three major regions: Melanesia,

Chart II -36 Japan's ODA Disbursements to Oceania

(Net disbursement basis, $ million)

Rank	Country or region	Grant	Yen loans, etc.	Total
Grant aid	Technical cooperation	Total
1	Fiji	7.58	10.13	17.71	7.08	24.79
2	Samoa	6.08	5.40	11.48	-	11.48
3	Palau	6.05	4.66	10.71	-	10.71
4	Micronesia	3.62	4.20	7.81	-	7.81
5	Tonga	1.17	3.73	4.89	-	4.89
6	Kiribati	2.22	1.48	3.70	-	3.70
7	Marshall Islands	0.96	2.48	3.44	-	3.44
8	Vanuatu	0.05	2.37	2.41	-0.10	2.32
9	Tuvalu	1.85	0.43	2.28	-	2.28
10	Nauru	-	0.22	0.22	-	0.22
11	(Cook Islands)	-	0.19	0.19	-	0.19
12	(Niue)	-	0.05	0.05	-	0.05
13	Papua New Guinea	6.97	10.14	17.11	-20.25	-3.14
14	Solomon Islands	0.73	1.09	1.82	-20.71	-18.89
Others	-	2.29	2.29	-	2.29
Oceania Total	37.28	48.84	86.12	-33.98	52.14

Note: (1) The geographic division was made based on the classification by the Foreign Ministry. The parentheses indicate the name of a region.

(2) As the figures in the table are rounded off, they do not necessarily add up to the totals.