Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) has signed an agreement with Maldives to provide a grant aid of 25 million U.S. dollars to assist the project for the Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting Network Development.
Minister of Finance Ahmed Munawar signed the agreement on behalf of the government of Maldives. He noted the strong ties that exist between the two countries.
“The 50 year relationship that we have between the Japanese government and Maldives and on this special occasion it is a special privilege for me to be able to sign this agreement. The total amount is approximately 25 million dollars which is one of the largest, I was told, grant assistance given by the Japanese government and this shows the great relationship we have between the Japanese government and the Maldives,” the Finance Minister said.
The Chief Representative of JICA Fusato Tanaka signed the agreement on behalf of the Japanese government. He noted the continued assistance that JICA has been providing to the country.
“JICA has been building a close relationship with the government of the republic of Maldives by providing various support including construction of the seawall in Male', construction of a primary school and installation of solar panels to promote clean energy. In addition to grant projects, JICA has a plan to provide technical cooperation to enhance broadcasters' capability to utilize newly introduced ISDB-T system. We expect to have a synergetic effect from the project to deliver maximum benefit to the people of Maldives,” the Chief Representative said.
Addressing the signing ceremony, the Managing Director of Public Service Media (PSM) Ibrahim Khaleel said that their aim is to complete implementation of the project before the completion of 23 months.
The objective of the Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting Network Development Project is to enhance the accessibility to information and to alleviate information disparities among islands through the development of the digital terrestrial television broadcasting network, thereby contributing to the mitigation of vulnerability and further social-economic development in Maldives.