Japan will dispatch a mission to Sudan on Sunday to gather information on its needs and how $100 million in aid the government promised in April can best be used, Senior Vice Foreign Minister Ichiro Aisawa said Thursday.
A group of officials from the Foreign Ministry and the Japan International Cooperation Agency will visit Sudan from June 26 to July 1 to meet with officials from Sudan, the United Nations and other international organizations.
Aisawa said the purpose of the mission is to find out how the Sudanese government and international organizations are helping its refugees return home and getting soldiers to disarm and distribute medical and food aid.
"We will decide how to use the $100 million after considering the result of the mission," Aisawa told reporters.
In April, Japan pledged to provide $100 million in aid to Sudan to help reconstruct the nation, which signed a peace pact with rebels in January.