POLICY & DIPLOMACYFOSTERING A SUSTAINABLE

JAPAN-AFRICAPARTNERSHIPIn August of 2022, Tunisia hosted the Eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8),
which boasts a history of around three decades. At the conference, Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio announced thatJapan is going to invest 30 billion U.S. dollars as the sum of the public and private financial contribution over thenext three years. As Japan aspires to be “a partner growing together with Africa,” it supports the continent’s efforts toachieve sustainable development.
“Africa is a young and hopeful continent that can
expect dynamic growth. Japan wants to be a partnerthat grows together with Africa.” Prime Minister
KISHIDA Fumio made that powerful remark in aspeech given on August 27 while participating online
in the opening of TICAD 8 in Tunisia.
As a pioneering forum on the development ofAfrica, the conference was first held in Tokyo in 1993,
and under Japan’s leadership, it has been co-hosted
through the years by the United Nations, the United

TICAD 8 closed with the adoption of the Tunis
Declaration. At the closing ceremony, PrimeMinister Kishida, who joined the conference online,
reiterated Japan’s intent to boost the vitality of theAfrican people and maintain peace and stability.

Nations Development Program (UNDP), the World
Bank, and the African Union Commission (AUC).
Twenty heads of state and government were among
the participants from 48 African countries this year.
At the conference, Prime Minister Kishida shared
his hopes of realizing a resilient Africa that thecontinent itself aims to achieve, with a specific focus
on “investment in people” and “quality of growth.”
He announced that Japan will invest 30 billion
dollars as the sum of its public and private financial

This is the second time Africa has hosted TICAD, the previous instance being theKenya meeting in 2016. POOL/AP/AFLO

contribution to Africa over the next three years.
“With the increasing international importance ofAfrica’s development, contact between business anddevelopment is becoming increasingly frequent,”
said SASAKI Nobuhiko, chairman and CEO ofJapan External Trade Organization ( JETRO), whichworks to promote mutual trade and investment
between Japan and the rest of the world. To expand
the investments, which had declined due to thepandemic, JETRO opened a support desk last year,
and is now assisting Japanese companies’ businessexpansion in Africa and matching Japanese firms
with African ones. The Business Forum organized byJETRO at TICAD 8 had over 500 participants fortwo days, including politicians and businesspeople
from both Africa and Japan.
Prime Minister Kishida stated in the forum that hewould like to highlight the importance of support forstartups, green investment, and investment in humanresources. The Japanese business community is set tolaunch an investment fund for startups of over 10billion yen. What is more, Japan will also establish
the Green Growth Initiative with Africa, directing 4
billion dollars through public and private cooperation
toward a structural transformation toward net zero,
while developing 300,000 professionals through athree-year period of training in a wide range of fields,
including industry, health, medicine, education,agriculture, judiciary, and administration.
Chairman Sasaki stated, “I can say with confidence
that this TICAD was an opportunity to make a
new start for African business. The Tunisian AI
startup that spoke at the Business Forum’s panel
discussion garnered major attention at the venue.
African ministers also told me that they had fruitfulexchanges of ideas with Japanese businesses.” Morethan 90 memoranda of understanding (MOUs) forcooperation and collaboration were signed this time.

Over 500 participantsjoined JETRO’s Business
Forum, where they
engaged in a lively
exchange of opinions.
JETRO Chairman andCEO SASAKI Nobuhikospoke at the opening
session.

“There are high hopes for Japanese companies thatmake a sincere effort to develop human resources andenable technology transfer,” Sasaki added.
With African countries facing economic hardshipdue to soaring food and energy prices stemming from
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sasaki said that “the veryquestion is whether Japan can be a friend in difficulttimes.” With international developments exerting agrave impact on Africa, Japan plans to provide 300
million dollars to bolster food production throughco-financing with the African Development Bank(AfDB). Japan will also provide co-financing of up to5 billion dollars together with the AfDB to improve
the lives of African people. In addition, it willcontribute up to 1.08 billion dollars to the Global
Fund to support countermeasures for infectious
diseases. Furthermore, it will appoint an ambassador,
namely, a Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, torespond swiftly to the complex challenges facing theregion.
Africa, which is expected to account for a quarterof the world’s population by 2050, is surely a treasurechest of possibilities. Based on the discussions at
this year’s TICAD, Japan will strongly support
development in Africa on the basis of African
ownership.