ERBIL, IRAQ: The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has picked Erbil, in northern Iraq, as the spot for their first full-time office. The plan is to open by the end of February, but that is unlikely due to paperwork delays in Iraq.

Currently, the JICA workers in Iraq are supervised by the team out Amman, Jordan, but as the $3.5 billion in Japanese development loans start rolling in, Japan feels the need for some closer oversight. The biggest project for the JICA is the $2.4 billion dollar rebuilding of the Al Mussaib thermal power plant in the center of the country.

This is Japan’s second attempt at opening an aid office. The first was set to open in Baghdad, but the project was cancelled after violence and bombings escalated. Erbil is an interesting pick, because it’s under the control of the Kurdistan regional government formed in 2006, by 3 northern provinces.

Article from Asahi Shimbun English: Japan to set up aid office in north Iraq