RIA, Margibi County – President George Weah has pleaded with the government of Japan to help extend the ongoing Somalia Drive Road project.
Speaking at the Roberts International Airport in Margibi County upon his arrival from the seventh edition of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Yokohama, Japan, President Weah said his appeal was to enable the ongoing Somalia Drive Road project connected with the Gabriel Tucker Bridge in Monrovia and the Hotel Africa Road.
“We asked them to see how best they can complement the Somalia Drive Road to be able to connect to the Gabriel Tucker Bridge and to also extend it to the Hotel Africa route,” President Weah told Journalist.
The plea, according to President Weah, was made during a negotiation with his Japanese counterparts, aimed at bringing specific benefic between both countries as well as strengthening Liberia-Japan tie.
The governments of Liberia and Japan in a bilateral meeting held on Friday, August 30, at the Aegean Intercontinental Yokohama Grand in the City of Yokohama agreed to strengthen cooperation and international relations as well as committed to infrastructural developments.
President Weah said composition surrounding the conference started early June, 2019, describing it as successful and a platform that presented good debates.
During the conference, President Weah expressed regret over Liberia’s backwardness in socioeconomic growth, attributing it to improper application of technology.
The Liberian leader admitted that Liberia backwardness is the result of lack of proper use of technology to impact national development goals.
“This reality compels us to now pursue strategies, which will fast-track the integration of technology in all facets of our national life,” he said.
“We have therefore decided to accelerate our efforts in this area in order to achieve our development goals in the shortest possible time.”
Weah furthered that considering Liberia’s backwardness in technology, the effort of those with the means to address such problem is highly needed in improving in that sector.
This, according to President Weah, can be made possible through capacity building process in the area of technology.
At the same time, President Weah noted that his leadership stands ready “to do anything that will improve Liberia in technology”, including negotiating with her counterparts.
“The visit renews Liberia-Japan cooperation and strengthens our bilateral relations. We are happy that the conversation was good and I know that Liberia will receive something good,” the Liberian leader said.
Meanwhile, President Weah recognized Japan’s contribution to Liberia’s development drive, among which includes grant for the reconstruction and expansion of the Somalia Drive Road in Monrovia; now referred to as the “Japan Freeway”, food aid to Liberia, grant for the procurement and installation of a 10 megawatt generator to support the expansion of electricity in Monrovia and its environs and grant for the construction of the Liberia-Japanese Friendship Maternity Hospital at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center, among others.