It was from May 19 to 20, 2022, that the inauguration ceremony of H.E. Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta as the new President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste was held in Dili, the capital of the country.For this ceremony, members of the evaluation team for the “Evaluation of Japan’s ODA to the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste,” conducted as part of MOFA’s FY2021 ODA Evaluation (see p.9 for further details), had the honor of being invited among others. Professor HASEGAWA Sukehiro, President of the Global Peacekeeping Association of Japan (Chief Evaluator), Professor DAIMON Takeshi from Waseda University, and Professor INADA Juichi from Senshu University travelled from Japan to Dili to attend the ceremony. At Dili, they had the opportunity to speak privately with H.E. President Ramos-Horta, and Professor Hasegawa directly handed the Evaluation Report to His Excellency.Furthermore, in September 2022, the evaluation team were able to report to H.E. Mrs. Adaljiza Albertina Xavier Reis Magno, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, on the results of the study, taking the opportunity of Her Excellency’s visit to JICA during her stay in Japan to attend the state funeral for the former Prime Minister, ABE Shinzo.For more than three centuries, Timor-Leste had seen the occupation of other countries including Portugal and Indonesia. It happens to be exactly 20 years ago that the country achieved independence on May 20, 2002, after intense military conflict. Japan began its reconstruction and humanitarian assistance to Timor-Leste even prior to its independence, and has long continued to support its nation-building efforts including the dispatch of the Self Defense Force (SDF) Engineer Unit to the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) and other assistance during the temporary political turmoil that followed.The Evaluation of Japan’s ODA to Timor-Leste not only analyzed Japan’s ODA for the country over the past five years as its main scope but also generated recommendations and lessons learned for future assistance with the intention to draw the overall picture of Japan’s past assistance in light of the diplomatic relations between the two countries during the past 20 years. As part of the study, with Professor Hasegawa’s personal networks, the team was able to conduct online interviews with key figures and war-time heroes who had led Timor-Leste to independence and obtained candid views about Japan’s ODA. These included H.E. President Ramos-Horta, H.E. Mr. Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, Leader of the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) (first President of Timor-Leste), and H.E. Dr. Rui Maria de Araújo, former Prime Minister.While the results of this study could be found in this annual report, what I felt was of particular importance as I joined these interviews as a MOFA desk officer was the fact that those who held top positions, including Presidents and Prime Ministers, were keeping such detailed memories on Japan’s past assistance, even down to the practical contents. All the leaders expressed their heartfelt appreciation toward Japan for its support and assistance rendered in the past, and at the same time thought highly of Japan’s approach that gives serious consideration to what can be done to improve the lives of the East Timorese people. In my view, this reflected their trust in Japan, which has long continued its support and assistance to the country. (I would like to also add that H.E. President Ramos-Horta told us he was a great fan of Japanese filmmaker KUROSAWA Akira, and spoke delightedly about how he has watched all of Kurosawa’s films.)Trust Built on Long-standing Cooperation between Japan and Timor-Leste– A view of a desk officer at the ODA Evaluation Division, MOFA –Column19Annual Report on Japan’s ODA Evaluation 2022
元のページ ../index.html#20