Remarks	  by	  H.E.	  Mr.	  ESTIFANOS	  Afeworki,	  Ambassador	  of	  the	  State	  of	  Eritrea	  to	  Japan	  and	  Dean	  of	  the	  African	  Diplomatic	  Corps	  (ADC)	  on	  the	  Seminar	  on	  the	  Initiative	  for	  the	  Promotion	  of	  Science	  and	  Technology	  Innovation	  Cooperation	  between	  Africa	  and	  Japan	  26	  January	  JICA	  2015	  Ichigaya	  Building	  Seminar	  Room	  600	  	  	  H.E	  Dr.	  Markos	  Tekle,	  Ambassador,	  F.D.R.	  Ethiopia	  and	  Chair,	  ADC	  Science	  and	  Technology	  Committee,	  	  Dr.	  Takashi	  Nishigaki,	  Program	  Officer,	  Department	  for	  Science	  and	  Technology	  Program	  Promotion,	  JSTA,	  Dr.	  Hideki	  Harada,	  Professor,	  Department	  of	  Civil	  and	  Environmental	  Engineering,	  Graduate	  School	  of	  Engineering,	  Tohoku	  University,	  Dr.	  Satoshi	  Kaneko,	  Professor,	  Department	  of	  Eco-­‐Epidemiology,	  Institute	  of	  Tropical	  Medicine,	  Graduate	  School	  of	  International	  Health	  Development,	  Nagasaki	  University,	  and	  Dr.	  Toshihiro	  Horii,	  Professor,	  Department	  of	  Molecular	  Protozoology,	  Research	  Center	  for	  Infectious	  Disease	  control,	  Research	  Institute	  for	  Microbial	  Diseases,	  Osaka	  University	  	  Let	  me	  begin	  my	  remark	  by	  thanking	  and	  expressing	  my	  gratitude	  to	  the	  invitation	  extended	  to	  me	  to	  make	  a	  brief	  remark	  as	  a	  Dean	  of	  the	  African	  Diplomatic	  Corps	  here	  in	  Tokyo	  on	  this	  important	  seminar	  being	  held	  for	  the	  promotion	  of	  science	  and	  technology	  cooperation	  between	  Japan	  and	  Eritrea	  in	  the	  TICAD	  process	  organized	  by	  Japan	  Science	  and	  Technology	  Agency,	  African	  Diplomatic	  Corps,	  Nagasaki	  University,	  Osaka	  University	  and	  Tohoku	  University.	  	  	  First,	  as	  we	  are	  all	  aware	  in	  the	  TICAD	  process,	  Japan	  is	  providing	  assistance	  to	  higher	  education	  with	  some	  focus	  on	  science	  and	  technology	  in	  some	  African	  countries.	  	  These	  process	  aims	  to	  support	  through	  Japanese	  experience	  African	  higher	  learning	  institution	  utilizing	  several	  layers	  of	  cooperation:	  mainly	  by	  1)	  strengthening	  learning	  and	  teaching	  infrastructures,	  2)	  upgrading	  laboratories	  &	  workshop	  facilities,	  3)	  developing	  research	  capacity,	  4)	  upgrading	  library,	  and	  5)	  upgrading	  staff	  and	  teachings.	  	  There	  is	  no	  doubt	  that	  such	  efforts	  will	  definitely	  help	  students	  in	  Africa	  to	  be	  key	  players	  in	  the	  promotion	  of	  innovation	  and	  competitiveness	  in	  their	  development	  and	  labor	  market	  imperatives	  of	  their	  respective	  countries.	  	  	  	  	  1	  Secondly,	  Kosen	  (Colleges	  of	  Technology)	  which	  is	  five	  year	  engineering	  education	  starting	  from	  15	  years	  old	  youth	  –	  were	  established	  in	  Japan	  in	  1961,	  in	  response	  to	  a	  strong	  demand	  from	  the	  industrial	  sector	  to	  foster	  engineers	  who	  sustained	  the	  high	  Japanese	  economic	  growth	  at	  that	  time.	  	  Most	  of	  the	  students	  got	  employment	  given	  their	  pertinent	  management	  and	  skill	  level	  of	  contribution	  in	  the	  different	  sectors	  of	  the	  economy.	  	  	  	  The	  overall	  GDP	  growth	  is	  currently	  very	  positive	  in	  our	  region	  too.	  
Despite	  the	  global	  economic	  slowdown,	  growth	  in	  Africa	  has	  remained	  robust	  in	  2014	  and	  expected	  to	  reach	  5.5%	  in	  2015.	  Strong	  demand	  from	  natural	  resources	  developments,	  information	  technology	  expansion,	  industrialization,	  governance,	  skill	  and	  higher	  education,	  research	  and	  expansion	  of	  transport	  &	  tourism	  networks	  and	  services	  are	  not	  also	  sparse	  in	  every	  country	  in	  Africa	  today.	  
Therefore,	  I	  believe	  the	  transfer	  of	  knowhow,	  capital	  and	  technology	  promotion	  to	  African	  countries	  from	  the	  successful	  experience	  of	  Kosen	  Japan	  is	  timely	  in	  the	  TICAD	  process	  to	  improve	  the	  business	  climate	  in	  Africa	  too.	  	  ICT	  infrastructure	  development,	  industrialization,	  governance,	  higher	  education	  in	  science	  and	  technology,	  boasting	  research	  capacity	  in	  agriculture,	  health,	  natural	  resource	  management	  and	  services	  is	  an	  essential	  ingredient	  to	  regional	  peace,	  stability,	  prosperity	  and	  cooperation.	  Creation	  of	  youth	  employment	  opportunities	  cannot	  be	  postponed	  in	  the	  continent	  of	  Africa	  too.	  	  With	  this	  small	  note	  let	  me	  thank	  you	  again	  and	  it	  is	  a	  great	  honor	  for	  the	  African	  diplomatic	  corps	  and	  myself	  to	  hear	  with	  an	  open	  mind	  Nagasaki,	  Osaka	  and	  Tohoku	  Universities	  scientific	  findings	  that	  resulted	  from	  cooperation	  with	  three	  universities	  in	  Africa.	  	  	  
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