Presentation Ceremony of Fire Engines in Samawah, Iraq

March 6, 2005

1. Utilizing the fund of about 2,200 million yen in emergency assistance contributed by Japan, the Ministry of Interior of Iraq has bought 70 fire engines. Twenty of them have arrived at the Governorate of Al-Basrah and six of the 20 have recently been delivered to the city of Samawah of the Governorate of Al-Muthanna.
   
   
2. The presentation ceremony of the six fire engines was held from 3:00p.m. on March 6 (Sun) (9:00a.m. local time) at the fire station in Samawah, attended on the Iraqi side by Lt. Colonel Muhssin Kadim Ilag, Director of the Fire Department in the Governorate of Al-Muthanna, and others, and on the Japanese side by relevant officials of the Liaison Office in Samawah of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and members of the Japanese Self Defense Forces.
   
   
3. The fire engines will be placed at each fire station in Samawah which is not sufficiently equipped, so as to improve fire fighting capabilities of Sawawah.
   
   
4. The remaining fifty fire engines are now under shipment from Japan and will be delivered to Baghdad around early April.

Related Information (The Issue of Iraq)