Japan promised Nicaragua on Thursday that it would help the Central American nation purchase equipment to remove antipersonnel land mines buried during its civil war in the 1980s, a Japanese government official said.
During a meeting at his official residence, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori told Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Aleman that he would agree to Nicaragua's request to use a portion of Japan's aid for the land mine-removal equipment, on condition it not be used for military purposes, the official said.
Aleman arrived in Japan on Monday for a six-day visit.
Under the arrangement, Nicaragua will pay for the equipment with profits it earns from selling goods bought with Japanese aid grants, such as fertilizers. The amount of funds to be spent on the equipment will be discussed through diplomatic channels, the official said.
An estimated 80,000 land mines are still buried in Nicaragua.
During the meeting Aleman also told Mori he hopes proposals regarding the cancellation of debt carried by poor countries will be highlighted during the July summit of the Group of Eight major nations in Okinawa.
Grant for Cambodia
Japan on Thursday committed up to 1.749 billion yen in grants to Cambodia for equipment to removes land mines, highway renovation and medical equipment, the Foreign Ministry said.
The two nations exchanged diplomatic notes in Phnom Penh on the grants-in-aid, the ministry said in a statement.
The grants comprise up to 330 million yen for improving the equipment used to remove antipersonnel land mines, up to 112 million yen for medical equipment at Siem Reap Hospital, and up to 1.307 billion yen for renovating the Siem Reap section of national highway Route 6.