Press Releases
Grant Assistance to the Kingdom of Tonga: Signing and Exchange of Notes on “the Project for Enhancing Border Management Capacity through the Introduction of the eMRP (Electronic Machine-Readable Passport)”
On September 25, in Nuku’alofa, the capital of the Kingdom of Tonga, H.E. Mr. INAGAKI Hisao, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Kingdom of Tonga, and Mr. Solomon KANTHA, Chief of Mission and Subregional Coordinator for the South Pacific, International Organization for Migration, Fiji Country Office with Coordinating Functions, signed and exchanged notes for " the Project for Enhancing Border Management Capacity through the Introduction of the eMRP (Electronic Machine-Readable Passport)" (project up to 882 million yen).
- This project aims at strengthening the border control capacity which is a security challenge of Tonga through creating an environment for the introduction of Electronic Machine-Readable passport (e-passport) by supporting the revision of the laws and regulations related immigration control, developing human resources to strengthen the identification management system, and installing appropriate e-passport issuing equipment.
- In the “Leaders Declaration” and the "Joint Action Plan" issued at the 10th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM 10) held on July 18, 2024, Japan has announced “Peace and Security” and "Technology and Connectivity" as the priority areas of Japan’s cooperation, and this cooperation embodies the Plan.
(Reference1) Basic Data on Kingdom of the Tonga
The Kingdom of Tonga has an area of 720 square kilometers, a population of 104,175 (2024, World Bank), and a gross national income per capita of US$5,520 (2024, World Bank).
(Reference2) 10th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM 10)
On July 16-18, 2024, the 10th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM 10) was co-chaired by Prime Minister KISHIDA and Prime Minister BROWN of the Cook Islands, the Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). The Meeting was attended by the leaders and representatives of 19 countries, regions and regional organization including Japan, 14 Pacific Island countries, two French overseas collectivities, Australia, and New Zealand, and the chair of Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). Prime Minister HU‘AKAVAMEILIKU represented the Kingdom of Tonga.
The Government of Japan announced Japan’s commitment to continue its robust development assistance and support for more than 6,500 people-to-people exchanges as well as human resource development over the next three years based on the seven priority areas of cooperation which are in line with the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent or “2050 Strategy" of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF): (1) Political Leadership and Regionalism, (2) People-centered Development, (3) Peace and Security, (4) Resources and Economic Development, (5) Climate Change and Disasters, (6) Ocean and Environment, (7) Technology and Connectivity.