By: Julius Konton
President Joseph Nyuma Boakai is said to be engaging major actors and stakeholders in Japan as part of his ongoing trip to that Asian Nation.
The Liberian leader in a move to make major interventions for Liberia held a strategic meeting with Dr. Takeharu Yamanaka, Mayor of Yokohama on the fringes of the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9)
Among other things, The engagement highlighted opportunities for deepening collaboration and city-to-city partnerships between Liberia’s cities and Yokohama.
Already realizing several challenges faced by cities in Liberia, the new engagement though in the early stage but once finalized will be of great relieve to the nation and its people.
A sister-city relationship between Liberia’s cities and Yokohama would be mutually beneficial, drawing on shared maritime identities and complementary strengths.
Yokohama, Japan’s second-largest city with a population of approximately 3.77 million and a global leader in port operations, urban planning, and sustainability, offers expertise in areas such as water supply, waste management, logistics, and technical knowledge transfer sectors that align closely with Liberia’s development needs under the ARREST Agenda.
According to President Boakai, such a partnership would support urban renewal in Monrovia, and other cities and strengthen its global maritime position, and open avenues for education and cultural exchanges.
For Yokohama, it would advance Japan’s Africa engagement by fostering grassroots diplomacy and people-to-people ties, making the relationship a practical bridge for sustainable growth and deeper international cooperation.
Speaking during their exchange, President Boakai extended a formal invitation to Mayor Yamanaka to visit Liberia, highlighting the importance of personal engagement in strengthening bilateral ties.
In a receptive manner and form Mayor Yamanaka warmly welcomed the invitation and expressed genuine interest in Liberia, emphasizing potential cooperation in several key sectors to include; Water supply systems, aimed at enhancing access to clean and reliable water across Liberian communities, Waste management strategies, where both cities might exchange practices in sorting, recycling, and sustainable urban hygiene and Port operations, leveraging Yokohama’s advanced infrastructure experience to support Liberian maritime and trade enhancements.
Other areas of interventions include; Technical knowledge transfer, involving expertise exchange to build local capacity in infrastructure, administration, and service delivery.
President Boakai, in turn, expressed the desire for Yokohama’s leaders to be introduced to Liberia’s major cities, including the capital, Monrovia, facilitating city-level dialogues and fostering people-to-people engagement.
Mayor Yamanaka framed his interest as part of Yokohama’s broader commitment to engaging proactively with African leaders, underscoring that such approach aligns with the city’s philosophy of fostering inclusive, practical, and mutually beneficial international relationships particularly at the subnational and grassroots levels.
As part of the discussions, Both leaders agreed to establish a working framework to advance these collaborative areas.
Meanwhile, The anticipated visit by Mayor Yamanaka to Liberia promises to inaugurate a new chapter in cooperative city diplomacy aimed at delivering concrete benefits to both Yokohama and Liberian municipalities.
