A special lecture on JICA’s Cooperation & Projects in Central Asia in the “Advanced International Cooperation” class (2024/11/27)

2025年2月3日更新

Mr. Imai explaining about the Central Asia resion and JICA projects

On Wednesday, November 27, at “Advanced International Cooperation” class, Mr. Seiju Imai, Resident Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Tajikistan Office, and Ms. Shukulona Shodieva, auditing student of “Advanced International Cooperation” class, gave a special lecture in “Advanced International Cooperation” class. This class is for undergraduate students and is taught by Ms. Akiko Oda, Deputy Director of the Global Collaboration Center at Ochanomizu University.

Mr. Imai has been posted to the JICA offices in the Central Asia region for a long time and is an expert of the region. Taking advantage of his temporary return to Japan, he gave students an overview of Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries where he is currently assigned, as well as JICA projects in the region.

Ms. Shukhlona from Tajikistan has worked for JICA project in Kyrgyzstan as an intern before becoming a research student at Ochanomizu University. She made a detailed presentation of JICA's "One Village One Product Promotion Project (OVOP in short)" in Kyrgyzstan, in which she has been deeply involved.

Ms. Shukhlona introducing OVOP in Kyrgyzstan

In the lecture, Mr. Imai gave a brief explanation about the history and economy of Central Asia and about the relationship between Central Asia and Japan, which most of the students are not familiar with. Ms. Shukhlona also introduced the products developed through the OVOP that help improve the livelihoods of local women and others. She showed how Kyrgyz people make products using local traditions and resources.

The lecture was followed by Q&A session. Students asked the relationship between the new large hydroelectric power plant under construction in Tajikistan and climate change countermeasures. They asked whether the new hydroelectric power plant is being built in anticipation of increased snowmelt, given that snowmelt water levels are rising due to climate change. The students also asked the sustainability of the OVOP project, in particular whether the skills and other aspects of the project were being passed on to younger generation, and how the pricing of OVOP products was compared with other Kyrgyz products.