The Implementation Status of Response Actions Taken for the Recommendations of Evaluations in FY2022

The following is the implementation status of response actions taken for the recommendations obtained from third-party evaluations in FY2022 (as of May 2024).(Link to the FY2022 evaluation reports)

Evaluation of Japan’s ODA to Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Recommendation 1: Strengthen public relations to leverage the results of Japan’s ODA projects as diplomatic power

In addition to communication through websites and social media accounts by the embassy and JICA Laos Office, local media such as newspapers and radio, as well as the social media accounts of local media, continue to be effective tools. However, as the local media of Laos are public media, adjustments are made to ensure balanced coverage and publication. For this reason, in addition to continuously and proactively pursuing opportunities to increase publication frequency, the embassy and JICA Laos Office coordinate the attendance of senior government officials from Japan at events related to economic cooperation, as far as possible. In addition, creative efforts are made to improve the quality of publicity and make it more impactful for event attendees and media audiences, as well as more easily accepted by the public, for example, by having the Ambassador and embassy officials and staff deliver greetings and messages directly in the Lao language. While there are budgetary constraints, Japan will consider and implement more effective public relations while taking reference from the ODA evaluation results.

While there are budgetary constraints to implementing new local publicity activities, when conducting training in Japan as part of an ongoing development cooperation project (support for unexploded ordnance removal), publicity in Japan was enhanced by having the International Development Journal publish articles about efforts such as the introduction of Japanese technology.

MOFA has schemes for press tours, creating videos and banners, etc. as a means of such PR activities, not only in Laos, and will continue to consider ways to further enhance PR activities in Japan and locally.

Furthermore, in addition to publicity at project milestones, JICA’s domestic publicity activities are structured to convey not only project overviews but also stories that include the people involved in the projects and their backgrounds, narrated through interviews. As the year 2025 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Laos, JICA plans to take the opportunity to organically combine posts on websites and social media, with seminars and other means of communicating about the activities of JICA’s JOCV as well as past projects and their effects.

Recommendation 2: Strengthen intellectual support for fiscal stability

In addition to dispatching a debt management advisor who provides advice on debt management to the Ministry of Finance, experts are also dispatched to provide advice on improving tax administration capacity aimed at increasing revenue, alongside ongoing technical cooperation to strengthen the public investment management function of the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Apart from continued participation as a member of the Round Table Process (RTP) on governance and macroeconomics, Japan has also continued with its proactive involvement in the Round Table Implementation Meeting (RTIM), which discusses the overall direction of development with donors under the leadership of the Minister of Planning and Investment. For example, while other donors such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) propose increasing tax rates on tobacco, alcohol, and luxury goods as well as raising value-added tax (VAT), Japan, while understanding fully the importance of these points, took a different perspective from other donors and brought up the importance of managing public investments (reducing inefficient spending, prioritizing expenditures). Japan plans to continue to provide cooperation on financial stabilization through JICA. The embassy and JICA Laos Office will continue participating in the RTP, taking into account the knowledge and views obtained through the field work of experts dispatched in these cooperative projects.

The JICA Laos Office, led by the debt management advisor, is also holding individual consultations with the World Bank, ADB, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and other organizations. In addition to the advisors’ activities, it is also engaged in consultations with the respective donors about cooperation in the aspect of revenue, such as the areas of customs and finance. Japan will continue to cooperate and collaborate with other aid agencies and strengthen support for fiscal stability.

On the other hand, Japan plans to play an active role as a member rather than as a contact point or coordinator, while respecting the existing framework of donor meetings in the RTP as well as the work of the Co-Chairs of the Governance and Macroeconomics Sector Working Groups. (Japan fulfills a coordinating role in the health, infrastructure, and other Sector WGs.)

Recommendation 3: Strategically pursue substantial synergies with Chinese aid

The JICA Country Analysis Paper (JCAP) published in March 2024 analyzes the direction of cooperation based on the development conditions in Laos, development trends of major donors such as ADB, and Japan’s initiatives to date. The JCAP document is available through the following link.
https://www.jica.go.jp/english/overseas/laos/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2024/09/24/jcap_la_en.pdf

In the next Country Development Cooperation Policy to be reviewed in the future, Japan will continue to take these points into consideration.

Evaluation of Japan’s ODA to the Republic of Tajikistan

Recommendation 1: Strengthen the monitoring of Grant Aid Projects through International Organizations

The Embassy of Japan in Tajikistan and JICA Tajikistan Office have organized information on the current status of aid projects that are ongoing or scheduled to be implemented in cooperation with international organizations. With regard to ongoing projects, periodic reports on the progress status are received from the international organizations, and no particular problems have arisen. With regard to projects implemented by the embassy and completed in recent years, and which have residual funds, procedures were completed in cooperation with the responsible division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan (FY2015 The Project for Strengthening Border Security in Khatlon Region (UN cooperation/implemented by UNODC), FY2016 The Project for Strengthening Disaster Risk Reduction and Response Capacities (UNDP cooperation), FY2021 Strengthening community resilience to climate-induced disasters through nature-based solutions in Tajikistan (UNDP cooperation)). Furthermore, as there may be confusion due to the large number of border control projects that have been implemented by the embassy and JICA to date, mapping was carried out for renovated facilities, etc.

International organizations are regularly requested to provide reports with an awareness of outcomes and impacts. With regard to the grant aid projects implemented in Tajikistan through international organizations, quarterly reporting and official exchanges of opinions are carried out within the steering committee. Individual persons-in-charge pay attention to supervising projects through information sharing, and put effort into sharing issues and concerns.

Recommendation 2: Complementarity between Japanese projects and health system reform in the health sector

By carrying out close monitoring such as regularly checking on the progress of ongoing projects with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the JICA Tajikistan Office maintains relationships of trust that are vital to the smooth implementation of projects. 

In addition, the JICA Tajikistan Office participates actively in monthly donor meetings and seminars conducted by donors to share information with other donors about JICA’s projects and strategies. In particular, as multiple donors such as the World Bank, World Health Organization (WHO), and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) participate in the primary health care (PHC) sector, JICA engages in exchanges of opinions with other donors and coordination of the target facilities to support in the implementation of the Project for Improving Quality of PMC. In such ways, it works together with all donors to contribute to governmental reform of the healthcare system.

Evaluation of Japan’s ODA to the Republic of Türkiye

Recommendation 1: Continue cooperation in connection with disaster risk reduction

As a part of cooperation toward recovery and reconstruction, (1) grant aid cooperation of 5 billion yen was implemented with the aim of removing debris and supplying medical equipment and heavy machinery (3.8 billion yen of the 5 billion yen is in preparations for implementation); (2) 80 billion yen in ODA loans was provided to support the recovery and reconstruction of areas affected by disaster; (3) in collaboration with such financial assistance, technical cooperation that leverages Japan’s knowledge is implemented, such as (a) support for the formulation of reconstruction plans, (b) technical support to strengthen the quake resistance of public buildings, and (c) capacity building support for the management of earthquake waste, including the removal of debris.

Recommendation 2: Strengthen cooperation in connection with climate change countermeasures

Technical cooperation (dispatch of experts) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency in the steel manufacturing sector (project implementation period: April 2024 – October 2025) will be implemented. In addition, country-based training in waste management technology will be carried out from FY2024 to FY2025.

Recommendation 3: Promote people-to-people exchanges (training in Japan)

Japan continues to implement technical cooperation activities such as training in Japan and seminars conducted by returning trainee alumni. In addition, in July 2023, Japan hosted a visiting delegation that includes the mayors of the areas affected by the February 2023 Türkiye -Syria earthquakes, through the local government association that conducts technical cooperation, during which it shared experiences of the Great Hanshin Earthquake. JICA Kansai Center also puts effort into maintaining the network of trainees who have returned to their home countries by conducting follow-up surveys on training in the disaster readiness field.

Recommendation 4: Expand and promote triangular cooperation programs with Türkiye

A third-country training in the sewage sector was conducted in February 2023 for Azerbaijan (scheduled to be continued in FY2024). In addition, there are plans to conduct a third-country training in disaster readiness in the autumn of 2024 in cooperation with the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), by inviting administrative officials from the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority to Türkiye.

Recommendation 5: Strengthen public relations activities in Türkiye

In addition to carrying out publicity by utilizing social media at the milestone points of each ODA project, such as remarks made by embassy officials on TV, signing ceremonies of Exchanges of Notes, and site visits by the Ambassador after the implementation of ODA projects, a video was also produced to summarize Japan’s assistance in the aftermath of the earthquake that hit the southeastern part of Türkiye in February 2023. This was posted on social media on the first anniversary of the earthquake disaster. Through those efforts, we have continued and strengthened publicity activities. Furthermore, as 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Türkiye, there are plans to conduct a tour (press tour) to promote understanding of Japan’s ODA initiatives to date.

Recommendation 6: Reconsider revising the schedule of the Development Cooperation Policy

With the announcement and enforcement of Türkiye’s 12th Development Plan in November 2023, there are plans to revise Japan’s Development Cooperation Policy for Türkiye in FY2025.

Recommendation 7: Examine methods of enhancing expertise in the JICA Türkiye Office

Procedures in highly specialized fields were implemented, including procurement procedures for ODA loans via visits from international cooperation specialists from the Procurement Management Section of JICA’s Infrastructure Engineering Department, and verifications conducted by specialized departments. Visits to Japan by national staff (local staff) are also used as an opportunity to conduct training, alongside online training. In addition, ongoing efforts are made to facilitate smooth communication while disseminating information about these efforts on the Türkiye side.

Evaluation of “Japan’s Grant Aid for Economic and Social Development Programme to Cuba in JFY 2016” and “Japan’s Grant Aid for Economic and Social Development Programme to Cuba in JFY 2017”

Recommendation 1: Continuous operation of equipment through procurement of spare parts

Japanese senior government officials are calling upon the Government of Cuba to give priority to allocating foreign currency to the procurement of replacement parts.

In light of the constraints to parts procurement within the Government of Cuba, Japan will continue to review feasible measures to ensure the continued effectiveness of this project.

Recommendation 2: Study of waste reduction and securing a new final disposal site based on the experience of neighboring countries

Japanese senior government officials are encouraging the Government of Cuba to maximize the use of knowledge gained in the same field through the Knowledge Co-Creation Program of JICA.

Furthermore, measures are reviewed to enable Cuba to make use of the knowledge and experience gained through technical cooperation toward improving waste management capabilities, which JICA is implementing or has implemented, in neighboring countries^Note.

^Note  Projects that can serve as role models

   • Technical Cooperation Project on Advisor for Marine Plastic Litter Management in the Caribbean Region (2021-2024)
   • Project on Integrated Solid Waste Management for Municipalities in El Salvador (2005-2009)
   • Project for Formulation of Western Province Solid Waste Management Master Plan in Sri Lanka (2019-2023)

Recommendation 3: Consideration of assistance to help improve the situation surrounding Cuba’s balance of international payments

Technical cooperation projects are being implemented to share Japan’s knowledge and experiences in policymaking, toward the formulation of policies for revitalizing small and medium enterprises which form an important pillar in Cuba’s economic reforms. 

Japan will continue to consider what it can do to provide comprehensive support to improve Cuba’s balance of international payments, while closely monitoring its debt repayment situation.