Remarks	  made	  by	  H.E.	  Mr.	  ESTIFANOS	  Afeworki,	  Ambassador	  of	  the	  State	  of	  Eritrea	  to	  Japan	  and	  Dean	  of	  the	  African	  Diplomatic	  Corps	  (ADC)	  in	  Tokyo	  on	  the	  Occasion	  of	  Dinner	  held	  in	  Honer	  of	  H.E.	   Mr.	   Norio	   MARUYAMA	   Foreign	   Press	   Secretary	   of	   the	  Ministry	  of	  Foreign	  Affairs	  of	  Japan	  Hosted	  by	  H.	  E.	  Mr.	  Mohamed	  El	   Amine	   Bencherif	   Ambassador	   of	   Algeria	   at	   His	   Residence	   on	  June	  22,	  2017	  	  	  H.E.	  Mr.	  Norio	  MARUYAMA	  Foreign	  Press	  Secretary	  of	  the	  Ministry	  of	  Foreign	  Affairs	  of	  Japan	  	  H.	  E.	  Mr.	  Mohamed	  El	  Amine	  Bencherif	  Ambassador	  of	  Algeria	  Excellencies	  and	  Dear	  Colleagues	  	  Honorable	  guests	  present	  	  Good	  evening,	  	  Ambassador	  Bencherif,	  	  	  Please	   accept	   from	   the	   African	   Diplomatic	   Corps	   (ADC)	   and	   myself	  heartfelt	  deep	  gratitude	  and	  thanks	  for	  hosting	  this	  dinner	  in	  honor	  of	  Ambassador	  Maruyama.	  	  Your	  kind	  initiative	  is	  highly	  appreciated	  by	  all	   of	   us	   present	   here	   today.	   Algeria	  is	  a	  vanguard	  of	  the	   historic	  struggle	   for	   independence,	   dignity	   and	   decolonization	   of	   our	   beloved	  continent	  of	  Africa.	  	  It	  is	  a	  great	  honor	  for	  all	  us	  to	  be	  here	  during	  the	  Romodam	  and	  Yifter	  in	  the	  home	  of	  this	  great	  country	  and	  people	  to	  honor	  our	  good	  friend	  Ambassador	  Maruyama.	  	  	  Ambassador	  Maruyama,	  	  Japan’s	  economy	  was	  reduced	  to	  dust	  during	  World	  War	  II.	  Japan	  is	  the	   second	   prosperous	   country	   in	   the	   world	   now.	   Emerging	  economies	   of	   Africa	   has	   many	   lessons	   to	   learn	   from	   Japan’s	   success	  story.	   Because	   of	   this,	   for	   other	   mutual	   geo-­‐political	   and	   bilateral	  consideration,	   our	   leaders	   and	   the	   public	   at	   large	   in	   Africa	   see	   the	  constructive	  engagement	  with	  Japan	  through	  the	  Tokyo	  International	  Cooperation	   for	   Africa	   Development	   (TICAD)	   process	   as	   continued	  dialogue	   and	   vehicle	   to	   deepen	   and	   strengthen	   understanding	   and	  our	  mutual	  interest.	  	  	  	  1	  Many	   Africa	   countries	   used	   to	   export	   food	   during	   the	   60th.	   The	  average	   GDP,	   per	   capita	   of	   African	   countries	   was	   higher	   that	   the	  Asian	  countries	  from	  1960th	  to	  mid	  70th.	  Many	  African	  countries	  are	  importing	   food	   and	   GDP	   per	   capita	   of	   many	   of	   our	   countries	   in	   Africa	  is	  far	  lower	  than	  in	  Asia	  currently.	  	  Therefore,	  success	  stories	  of	  the	  economies	  of	  Asia	  are	  a	  beacon	  of	  hope	  for	  most	  of	  countries	  in	  Africa	  to	  emulate	  and	  an	  experience	  to	  learn	  from.	  	  	  The	   African	   Diplomatic	   Corps	   (ADC)	   consider	   ourselves	   to	   be	  fortunate	  to	  have	  met	  and	  worked	  with	  a	  very	  special	  personality	  like	  you	  (in	  your	  former	  capacity	  as	  Director	  General	  of	  the	  Department	  of	  African	  Affairs)	  in	  enhancing	  and	  deepening	  the	  existing	  strategic	  partnership	   between	   Africa	   and	   Japan	   in	   general	   and	   the	   successful	  conduct	   of	   TICAD	   VI	   in	   Nairobi	   in	   particular	   –	   the	   first	   of	   its	   kind	  organized	  in	  the	  continent	  of	  Africa.	  	  	  	  As	   a	   result	   of	   the	   effort	   of	   Japan	   and	   Africa,	   under	   your	   guidance	   and	  leadership	  capacity	  in	  the	  Ministry	  of	  Foreign	  Affairs,	  Japan	  pledged	  approximately	  USD	  30	  Billion,	  TICAD	  VI	  Nairobi	  for	  a	  period	  of	  three	  years	  from	  2016	  –	  2019.	  Out	  of	  this	  USD	  10	  Billion	  shall	  be	  disbursed	  for	   developing	   quality	   infrastructure	   under	   Private	   Public	  partnership	  (PPP),	  for	  building	  resilient	  health	  systems	  and	  for	  laying	  the	   foundation	   for	   peace	   and	   stability	   by	   providing:	   vocational	  training	   for	   50,000,	   by	   increasing	   private	   sector	   activity	   HRD	   -­‐	   i.e.	  
training	   for	   30,000	   people	   in	   industrial	   activities,	   10,000	   on	  intellectual	  property	  and	  20,000	  in	  mathematics	  and	  science	  teachers	  in	   Africa.	   We	   the	   38	   diplomatic	   missions	   of	   Africa	   in	   Tokyo	   look	  forward	  and	  are	  ready	  to	  work	  very	  closely	  with	  MoFA,	  JBIC,	  JETRO,	  JOGMEC	  and	  other	  public	  and	  private	  agencies	  of	  Japan	  to	  make	  the	  implementation	  of	  this	  projects	  successful	  in	  our	  countries.	  	  Therefore,	   Mr.	   Ambassador,	   we	   all	   deeply	   value	   and	   appreciate	   the	  wisdom	   and	   hard	   work	   that	   you	   so	   kindly	   shared	   with	   all	   of	   us	  present	  with	  you	  here	  today	  -­‐	  in	  this	  successful	  process.	  	  	  Although	   we	   may	   be	   separated	   because	   of	   your	   new	   assignment,	  nothing	   will	   diminish	   the	   important	   role	   that	   Your	   Excellency	   have	  and	   that	   will	   always	   play	   in	   our	   lives	   and	   into	   the	   African	   Japan	  mutual	  issues	  of	  interest	  which	  you	  served	  during	  your	  carrier	  for	  a	  long	  time.	  	  	  	  2	  To	   conclude,	   on	   this	   special	   occasion	   of	   Yiftar	   evening,	   let	   me	   wish	  Your	  Excellency	  and	  family	  good	  health,	  peaceful	  life	  and	  prosperity.	  	  	  We	  all	  hope	  and	  wish	  success	  to	  Your	  Excellency’s	  new	  and	  as	  usual	  very	  challenging	  assignment,	  once	  again.	  	  	  Thank	  you	  	  	  3