The government of Japan has decided to increase food aid by donating rice to São Tomé and Príncipe from US$2 million to US$3 million annually, the STP-Press news agency quoted an official source as saying.

On the sidelines of the TICAD 7 conference in Yokohama, Prime Minister Jorge Bom Jesus met his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, with whom he discussed the state of cooperation between the two countries.

The Japanese Prime Minister assured the head of the São Tomé government that Japan will continue to help São Tomé and Príncipe to fund elections, “as the latest electoral act proved the country’s maturity as regards political stability and the strengthening of democracy.”

Before returning to São Tomé, Jorge Bom Jesus made a stopover in Lisbon, where he held a working meeting with leaders of the different associations of the São Tomé community-based in Portugal. (Macauhub)