A day for national unity was held in Juba on Saturday under the slogan “sport for peace and unity”, organised by South Sudan Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The event at Juba Stadium was attended was by Vice President James Wani Igga, Hiroshi Kato, Vice President of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), in addition to a number of national ministers and the Governor of Jubek Augustino Jadallah Wani, and Kiya Masahiko, the Ambassador of Japan to South Sudan.

During the opening ceremony, delegations of eight states participated in the event, conducting a parade. The program is scheduled to run from 17-23 January including competitions in football and some athletics such as running.

For his part, the Sports Director in the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports Edward Satimo said the idea of ​​this event began last August when he met the representative of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in South Sudan Dr. Mitsuaki Furukawa. He said he asked Mitsuaki for JICA to support sport in South Sudan.

Hiroshi Kato, Vice President of JICA, said the importance of sport is its ability to unite everyone, noting Japan had earlier experience in this field since 60 years.

During the opening event, a number of performances were given by South Sudanese groups as well as the Japanese UNMISS troop contingent.