Remarks	  Made	  by	  H.	  E.	  Mr.	  ESTIFANOS	  Afeworki,	  Ambassador	  of	  the	  State	  of	  Eritrea	  to	  Japan	  and	  Dean	  of	  the	  African	  Diplomatic	  Corps	  (ADC)	  On	  the	  1st	  Anniversary	   of	   Japan	   Africa	   Infrastructure	   Development	   Associations	  (JAIDA)	   at	   the	   Ministry	   of	   Land,	   Infrastructure,	   Transport	   and	   Tourism	  September	  27,	  2017:	  	  	  Ministry	  of	  Land,	  Infrastructure,	  Transport	  and	  Tourism	  Minister	  Keiichi	  Ishii	  	  Japan	   -­‐	   Africa	   Infrastructure	   Development	   Associations	   (JAIDA)	   President	   Yoji	  Okumura	  	  JAIDA	  Chairman	  Yoichi	  Miyamoto	  	  Distinguished	  leaders	  of	  the	  private	  companies	  present	  Colleagues	  from	  the	  African	  Diplomatic	  Corps	  	  Ladies	  and	  gentlemen	  	  In	   my	   capacity	   as	   the	   Dean	   of	   the	   African	   Diplomatic	   Corps	   (ADC)	   and	  Ambassador	  of	  the	  State	  of	  Eritrea	  to	  Japan,	  please	  allow	  me	  first	  and	  foremost	  to	  extend	  my	  deep	  felt	  gratitude	  and	  heartfelt	  thanks	  to	  the	  invitation	  extended	  to	  me	   and	   my	   colleagues	   by	   the	   Ministry	   of	   Land	   and	   Infrastructure,	   Transport	   and	  Tourism	   to	   attend	   this	   important	   event	   which	   is	   being	   held	   to	   commemorate	   the	  1st	   Anniversary	   of	   the	   Japan	   Africa	   Infrastructure	   Development	   Association	  (JAIDA).	  	  	  Let	   me	   express	   also	   on	   the	   onset	   that	   I	   am	   impressed	   by	   the	   turnout	   of	  attendance,	   especially	   of	   the	   more	   than	   146	   Japanese	   major	   engineering	   and	  construction	   companies	   represented	   by	   their	   key	   leaderships	   and	   CEOs	   and	   38	  Ambassadors	   and	   Colleagues	   from	   the	   African	   Diplomatic	   Corps	   in	   this	  important	   event	   of	   today.	   Your	   attendance	   clearly	   demonstrates	   that	   TICAD	   VI	  implementation	  plan	  of	  quality	  infrastructure	  is	  gaining	  traction	  and	  momentum.	  
This	  is	  a	  clear	  sign	  that	  present	  constraints	  and	  bottlenecks	  of	  information	  and	  consultations	   between	   African	   countries	   and	   the	   private	   sector	   of	   Japan	   are	  clearly	  being	  shattered.	  	  	  As	   you	   all	   know,	   defining	   the	   guidelines	   for	   the	   development	   of	   quality	  infrastructure	  at	  macro	  and	  micro	  level	  is	  indeed	  daunting	  but	  an	  important	  task	  that	  has	  been	  achieved	  at	  both	  national	  and	  regional	  level	  in	  each	  of	  our	  African	  countries.	   	   AGENDA	   2063	   –	   the	   first	   ten-­‐year	   implementation	   plan	   for	   2014	   –	  2023	  is	  in	  place.	  TICAD	  VI	  has	  embraced	  it.	  SDGs	  have	  targeted	  it.	  	  	  Land,	   infrastructure,	   transport	   and	   tourism	   are	   the	   major	   contributors	   in	   the	  GDP	  growth,	  which	  occupies	  a	  very	  high	  and	  significant	  scale	  of	  employment	  in	  all	  of	  our	  African	  countries.	  	  	  	  African	  countries	  harmonization	  of	  trade	  routes	  with	  the	  neighborhoods	  -­‐	  across	  the	   borders	   -­‐	   as	   well	   as	   with	   far-­‐off	   places	   shall	   depend	   on	   the	   deployment	   of	  quality	  infrastructure	  i.e.	  through	  the	  deployment	  of	  maritime,	  aviation,	  railways,	  land,	  pipeline,	  utilities	  and	  other	  related	  ancillary	  networks	  and	  services.	  	  	  	  Japan	   has	   a	   highly	   qualified	   engineering	   and	   construction	   companies	   that	   can	  play	   a	   major	   role	   in	   changing	   the	   current	   infrastructure	   landscape	   in	   Africa.	  	  	  1	  Projects	   that	   have	   been	   implemented	   and	   are	   being	   implemented	   by	   Japanese	  companies	  in	  the	  different	  trade	  corridors	  of	  Africa	  and	  each	  of	  our	  countries	  are	  living	   proof.	   	   This	   shows	   that	   Japanese	   companies	   can	   definitely	   play	   a	   pivotal	  role	   to	   help	   African	   countries	   build	   and	   promote	   safe,	   efficient,	   economic,	  affordable	  and	  sustainable	  quality	  infrastructure	  networks	  and	  services.	  I	  believe	  that	   Japan’s	   commitment	   in	   the	   TICAD	   process	   and	   its	   response	   towards	   these	  goals	   shall	   be	   an	   important	   contribution	   to	   Africa.	   Africa	   can	   also	   benefit	   from	  competitions	   of	   the	   Japanese	   companies	   with	   other	   foreign	   operators	   in	   the	  continent.	  There	  is	  no	  trade	  without	  harmonization	  of	  the	  routes.	  	  	  Last	  but	  not	  least,	  let	  me	  state	  that	  the	  38	  African	  Embassies	  here	  in	  Tokyo	  are	  ready	   to	   facilitate	   and	   create	   ways	   and	   means	   of	   creating	   a	   business	   tie-­‐up	  between	   your	   esteemed	   ministry,	   agencies,	   administration	   and	   companies	   with	  counterparts	   in	   our	   capitals.	   I	   wish	   a	   constructive	   outcome	   in	   today’s	  deliberations.	   The	   Embassy	   of	   the	   State	   of	   Eritrea	   to	   Japan	  –	   would	   also	   like	   to	  assure	  the	  participants	  and	  express	  once	  again	  in	  this	  important	  meeting	  that	  we	  are	  ready	  to	  facilitate	  and	  serve	  you.	  	  Thank	  you	  for	  lending	  me	  your	  ears,	  	  	  	  	  	  2