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	   a	  Working	   Tea	   Meeting	   of	   the	   African	   Diplomatic	   Corps	   with	   H.E.	   Mr.	  
Rakotoarimanana	   Hery	   Martial	   Rajaonarimampianina,	   President	   of	   the	  Republic	  of	  Madagascar,	  December	  5,	  2017.	  
Your	  Excellency	  H.E.	  Mr.	  Rakotoarimanana	  Hery	  Martial	  Rajaonarimampianina,	  	  President	  of	  the	  Republic	  of	  Madagascar,	  	  First	  lady,	  Mrs.	  Voahangy	  Rajaonarimampianina,	  Honorable	  members	  of	  the	  delegation,	  and	  Excellences	  and	  Dear	  Colleagues	  Good	  afternoon,	  My	   name	   is	   ESTIFANOS	   Afeworki.	   I	   am	   the	   Ambassador	   of	   the	   State	   of	   Eritrea	   to	  Japan	  and	  Dean	  of	  the	  African	  Diplomatic	  Corps	  (ADC).	  	  	  Mr.	  President,	  	  	  Allow	   me	   first	   and	   foremost	   to	   welcome	   Your	   Excellency	   to	   Japan	   and	   honorable	  members	  of	  your	  delegation.	  I	  also	  would	  like	  to	  express,	  on	  behalf	  of	  the	  African	  Diplomatic	  Corps	  present	  with	  us	  here	  this	  afternoon	  and	  myself,	  our	  good	  wish	  and	   success	   to	   Your	   Excellency’s	   four-­‐day	   official	   visit	   to	   Japan	   from	   December	   3	  to	  December	  6,	  2017.	  	  	  Thank	  you	  so	  much	  for	  making	  time	  to	  meet	  our	  African	  Diplomatic	  Corps	  (ADC)	  in-­‐spite	   of	   Your	   Excellency’s	   tight	   official	   visit	   schedules.	   We	   are	   38	   African	  Missions	  here	  in	  Tokyo.	  As	  Your	  Excellency	  know,	  the	  group	  has	  been	  engaged	  in	  the	   Tokyo	   International	   Cooperation	   for	   African	   Development	   (TICAD)	   process	  since	   its	   inception	   in	   1993	   -­‐	   in	   a	   collective	   diplomacy	   to	   promote	   the	   strategic	  interest	  of	  Africa	  to	  Japan.	  	  	  Mr.	  President,	  	  This	   Group	   has	   been	   in	   a	   continues	   engagements	   with	   all	   the	   stakeholders	   of	  TICAD	   i.e.	   Japan,	   African	   Union	   (AU),	   the	   World	   Bank,	   United	   Nations	  Development	   Program	   (UNDP),	   United	   Nations	   Office	   of	   the	   Special	   Advisor	   on	  Africa	   (UNOSAA)	   to	   help	   in	   structuring	   and	   influencing	   the	   outcomes	   of	   the	  process	   to	   address	   strategies	   for	   steps	   toward	   greater	   African	   prosperity	   in	  general,	   and	   especially	   after	   TICAD	   VI	   in	   Nairobi,	   to	   support	   industrialization,	  health	   and	   social	   stability	   programs	   of	   African	   countries	   in	   a	   more	   focused	  manner	  in	  particular.	  We	  have	  also	  worked	  hand-­‐in-­‐hand	  with	  New	  Partnership	  for	   Africa's	   Development	  (NEPAD)	   and	   African	   Development	   Bank	   (AfDB)	   to	  create	  a	  bridge	  between	  the	  businesses	  of	  African	  countries	  and	  Japanese	  public	  and	   private	   sector.	   We	   are	   wholeheartedly	   working	   here	   together,	   with	  	  1	  politicians,	   government	   bureaucrats,	   academia,	   businesses	   leaders,	   media,	   tour	  operators,	  NGOs,	  NPOs	  etc	  not	  only	  as	  brothers	  and	  sisters	  with	  common	  destiny	  but	   as	   one	   team	   and	   unit	   in	   order	   to	   promote	   the	   strategic	   importance	   and	  interest	   of	   Africa	   to	   Japan	   and	   beyond.	   Ms.	   Rosette	   Rasoamanarivo	  Chargé	  d'affaires	  a.i.	  and	  all	  the	  diplomats	  of	  the	  Embassy	  of	  the	  Republic	  of	  Madagascar	  had	   been	   in	   the	   forefront	   of	   these	   efforts.	   	   Let	   me	   take	   this	   opportunity	   to	  express	  our	  heartfelt	  gratitude	  and	  thanks	  for	  their	  continued	  contribution	  to	  the	  TICAD	   process	   at	   this	   moment.	   Your	   Excellency’s	   continued	   support	   and	  contribution	  in	  TICAD	  and	  to	  our	  collective	  diplomacy	  in	  promoting	  the	  strategic	  interest	  of	  Africa	  to	  Japan	  here	  in	  Tokyo	  has	  also	  been	  paramount.	  	  Thank	  you	  so	  much.	  	  Without	  much	  ado,	  I	  would	  also	  like	  to	  invite	  Mr.	  President	  to	  say	  a	  few	  words.	  
But	   before	   that,	   I	   would	   also	   like	   to	   open	   the	   floor	   for	   Excellences	   and	   Dear	  Colleagues	   introduction	   one-­‐by-­‐one	   and	   if	   possible	   to	   share	   a	   few	   words	   with	  Your	  Excellency	  on	  our	  activities	  here	  in	  Tokyo	  given	  the	  opportune	  time.	  	  	  	  Thank	  you,	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  	  2