Remarks	  Made	  by	  H.E.	  Mr.	  ESTIFANOS	  Afeworki,	  Ambassador	  of	  the	  State	  of	  Eritrea	  to	  Japan	  and	  Dean	  of	  the	  African	  Diplomatic	  Corps	   on	   TICAD7	   Official	   Pre-­‐Event	   ICREP-­‐NTDs	   International	  Symposium	  July	  30,	  2019.	  	  Professor	  Koichi	  Suzuki	  (Teikyo	  University)	  	  Dr.	   Makoto	   Suematsu,	   President	   of	   Japan	   Agency	   for	   Medical	   Research	   and	  Development	  (AMED)	  	  Mr.	   Yutaka	   Hishiyama,	   DG,	   Science	   and	   Technology	   Policy	   Bureau	   Ministry	   of	  Education,	  Culture,	  Sports,	  Science	  and	  Technology	  (MEXT)	  Honorable	  participants	  Colleagues	  	  Ladies	  and	  gentlemen	  	  First	   of	   all,	   let	   me	   express	   on	   behalf	   of	   the	   African	   Diplomatic	   Corps	   here	   in	  Tokyo	   and	   myself	   as	   Ambassador	   of	   the	   State	   of	   Eritrea	   to	   Japan,	   our	   deep	   felt	  gratitude	   and	   thanks	   for	   the	   invitation	   extended	   to	   me	   to	   make	   an	   opening	  remark	   in	   this	   important	   symposium	   of	   scientists	   being	   held	   today	   to	   promote	  cooperation	   between	   African	   countries	   and	   Japan	   on	   the	   infectious	   disease	  research.	  	  As	   we	   all	   know,	   present	   day	   science	   and	   medicine	   have	   made	   tremendous	  progress	  and	  accomplishments	  in	  protecting	  humanity	  from	  threats	  of	  continued	  epidemics	  caused	  by	  the	  migration	  of	  unknown	  and	   known	  virus,	  bacteria,	  fungi,	  protozoan	   microorganisms	   and	   different	   parasites	   inflicting	   human	   beings	   -­‐transported	   through	   different	   mediums	   -­‐	   from	   wild	   plants,	   animals	   and	   their	  habitats.	  	  Protecting	   humanity	   from	   diseases	   and	   epidemics	   is	   an	   ongoing	   international	  security	   issue.	   No	   nation	   in	   this	   planet	   is	   safe	   from	   the	   spread	   of	   diseases	   -­‐	  known	   or	   unknown.	   Therefore,	   it	   is	   a	   duty	   and	   obligation	   of	   all	   states,	  institutions,	   health	   workers	   and	   researchers	   to	   work	   hand-­‐in-­‐hand	   and	   to	  collaborate	  to	  serve	  the	  common	  objective	  of	  human	  security	  across	  boundaries.	  	  No	  one	  gathered	  here	  today	  in	  this	  symposium	  of	  scientist	  doubts	  that	  Africa	  is	  the	  original	  home	  of	  humanity.	  	  But	  it	  was	  only	  in	  2000	  that	  scientists	  discovered	  earliest	   well	   dated	   fossil	   reef	   on	   Eritrea’s	   coast	   of	   the	   Red	   Sea	   where	   our	  ancestors,	   who	   migrated	   out	   of	   Africa,	   collected	   oysters,	   clams,	   scallops	   and	  crabs	  some	  125,000	  years	  ago.	  Abdur	  –	  125,	  000	  years	  old	  -­‐	  is	  the	  earliest	  best-­‐dated	  evidence	  for	  human	  occupation	  of	  a	  coastal	  marine	  environment	  now.	  This	  is	  one	  example	  and	  another	  clear	  evidence	  that	  researchers	  have	  much	  to	  do	  and	  study	  from	  the	  continent	  of	  Africa	  especially	  in	  areas	  of	  scientific	  learning’s	  and	  the	  future	  of	  mankind.	  	  	  Therefore,	   it	   is	   desirable	   for	   Japanese	   experiences	   and	   lessons	   learned	   in	   the	  areas	   of	   scientific	   studies	   in	   general	   and	   cooperation	   on	   infectious	   diseases	  research	  between	  Africa	  and	  Japan	  in	  particular	  to	  get	  due	  attention	  and	  support	  	  1	  in	  TICAD7.	  It	  is	  an	  opportune	  period	  to	  share	  cutting	  age	  science,	  technology	  and	  innovation	  between	  African	  learning	  institutions	  and	  Japan.	  	  	  	  TICAD7	   must	   avail	   a	   mechanism	   to	   create	   a	   tie-­‐up	   for	   learning	   institutions	   of	  Africa	  and	  Japan	  now.	  Transfer	  of	  know-­‐how,	  technology	  and	  financial	  support	  to	  such	   an	   endeavor	   shall	   definitely	   serve	   our	   mutual	   common	   human	   security.	   	   I	  believe	   that	   there	   is	   much	   room	   for	   Japanese	   public-­‐private	   contributions	  especially	   in	   creating	   a	   bridge	   and	   tie-­‐up	   with	   the	   learning	   institutions	   of	   our	  African	  countries	  	  Keeping	   in	   mind	   the	   policy	   and	   institutional	   capacity	   of	   Africa’s	   learning	  institutions,	  it	  is	  imperative	  for	  the	  Government	  of	  Japan	  and	  the	  private	  sector	  of	   Japan	   to	   ensure	   sound	   financial	   grounds	   in	   the	   TICAD7	   for	   expanding	   and	  creating	   a	   successful	   partnership.	   	   Hence,	   it	   is	   imperative	   for	   Ministry	   of	  Education,	   Culture,	   Sports,	   Science	   and	   Technology	   of	   Japan	   to	   ensure	  sustainable	   support	   to	   the	   learning	   institutions	   of	   Japan	   to	   accomplish	   their	  missions	   in	   our	   African	   countries,	   as	   the	   resource	   demand	   is	   obviously	  substantial.	  	  Wish	  you	  all	  successful	  deliberations	  and	  positive	  outcome	  and	  thank	  you	  again,	  	  	  	  	  	  	  2