Japan to send survey mission to Sudan for aid disbursement

TOKYO, Jun 23, 2005 (Kyodo) — The Japanese government will send a mission to Sudan on Sunday to assess the local situation to determine specific ways to disburse its official development assistance pledge, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

The mission, consisting of officials from the ministry and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, will examine the operation of international organizations and assess the needs of the Sudanese people, the ministry said.

Japan pledged $100 million in ODA to Sudan at an international donor conference in Oslo in April.

The fact-finding mission will return to Japan on July 1.