Japan: trade, co-op with Bolivia not to be affected by quake

The embassy of Japan in Bolivia said Tuesday cooperation and trade between the two countries will not suffer any negative effects from the devastating 9-magnitude earthquake and tsunami in the Asian country.


The comments come after several days of speculation in the local press where government officials have expressed concern that Bolivian experts to Japan and development aid to the impoverished South American country might suffer.


"Until now the policy of cooperation with Bolivia is maintained," Japan's ambassador in Bolivia Toshio Watanabe told the local radio station Erbol.


Watanabe said Japan's budget for development aid and other cooperation programs with Bolivia already has been established and there are no instructions" to suspend the cooperation programmed with Bolivia this year.


Japan's development cooperation with Bolivia started 50 years ago and is worth some 1.7 billion U.S. dollars today in a variety of programs including aid donations, technical assistance and credits. The money is used for the development of the health and education sectors, livestock, roads and industrial production.


Bolivian Mining director Freddy Beltran had said that Bolivia will likely be affected by a drop in international mining prices, as a result of the expectations that demand from Japan will fall following the earthquake and tsunami last Friday that killed at least 3,373 people and left thousands missing.


Japan is one of Bolivia's main export markets for metals like zin, lead, and silver.
(Source:http://news.xinhuanet.com)