Remarks	  Made	  by	  H.E.	  Mr.	  ESTIFANOS	  Afeworki,	  Ambassador	  of	  the	  State	  of	  Eritrea	  to	  Japan	  and	  Dean	  of	  the	  African	  Diplomatic	  Corps	   On	   TICAD	   JOINT	   MONITORING	   COMMITTEE	   and	   Related	  Meetings	  31	  July	  2018.	  	  All	  Joint	  Monitoring	  Committee	  (JMC)	  members	  present	  	  Ladies	  and	  Gentlemen	  	  Good	  afternoon,	  	  I	   am	   honored	   to	   extend,	   on	   behalf	   of	   the	   African	   Diplomatic	   Corps	  (ADC)	   –	   38	   missions	   in	   Tokyo	   –	   and	   myself	   as	   Ambassador	   of	   the	  State	  of	  Eritrea	  to	  Japan	  –	  our	  warm	  welcome	  to	  all	  the	  members	  of	  JMC	  present	  here	  today.	  	  It	   is	   the	   collective	   belief	   and	   sincere	   wish	   of	   the	   ADC	   that	   this	  important	   meeting	   held	   today	   will	   be	   conducted	   in	   the	   usual	  amicable	   and	   efficient	   manner	   to	   achieve	   its	   objective	   i.e.	   collective	  assessment	   of	   the	   state	   of	   implementation	   of	   the	   TICAD	   V	   and	   VI	  outcomes.	  	  Let	  me	  take	  this	  opportunity	  to	  assure	  all	  the	  partners	  of	  the	  TICAD	  process	   present	   here	   that	   the	   ADC	   shall	   remain	   seized	   and	   will	  remain	   continuously	   engaged	   with	   all	   your	   esteemed	   institutions	   to	  facilitate	   the	   implementation	   of	  the	   TICAD	   outcomes	   in	   our	   countries	  and	   Africa	   -­‐	   as	   well	   as	   to	   contribute	   to	   the	   overall	   qualitative	   and	  quantitative	  evolution	  of	  the	  TICAD	  process.	  	  The	   African	   Diplomatic	   Corps	   has	   come	   up	   with	   an	   innovative	   idea	  and	   vehicle	   of	   promoting	   the	   strategic	   interest	   of	   our	   continent	   to	  Japan	   through	   a	   program	   that	   it	   launched	   in	   2018	   called	   Today’s	  Africa	   or	   IMA	   NO	   AFRICA	   (Japanese	   language	   translation).	   ADC	  believes	  that	  this	  initiative	  can	  serve	  better	  the	  strategic	  partnership	  activities	   between	   Japan	   and	   Africa	   to	   be	   developed	   and	   enhanced.	  	  This	  initiative	  can	  also	  serve	  as	  means	  to	  put	  an	  institutional	  base	  to	  the	   long-­‐term	   development	   strategy	   of	   African	   countries	   get	   a	  continued	  focused	  attention	  from	  the	  TICAD	  process	  -­‐	  as	  well	  as	  from	  Japan’s	  private	  and	  public	  sector.	  	  Hence,	   I	   would	   like	   to	   request	   all	   participants	   of	   this	   important	  meeting	   especially	   the	   co-­‐organizers	   of	   TICAD	   -­‐	   to	   consider	  	  1	  supporting	   and	   sponsoring	   ADC’s	   initiative	   of	   Today’s	  Africa	   or	   IMA	  NO	  Africa	  program	  which	  will	  to	  held	  before	  TICAD7	  in	  Yokohama	  in	  2019.	  	  Africa	  has	  come	  of	  age	  from	  the	  era	  of	  aid	  and	  donation	  since	  1993.	  
African	   countries	   offer	   ideal	   location,	   resources	   and	   huge	   business	  opportunities	   to	   Japan.	   It	   is	   imperative	   now	   for	   the	   TICAD	   process	   to	  evolve	   into	   an	   active	   strategic	   linkage	   of	   head,	   arm,	   and	   leg	  embedded	   process	   of	   energy	   and	   resources	   diplomacy	   between	  African	   countries	   and	   Japan	   before	   TICAD7.	   	   It	   is	   to	   the	   mutual	  interest	  of	  Africa	  and	  Japan.	  	  	  	  Let’s	  prepare	  together	  for	  these	  ideals	  to	  takeoff	  in	  TICAD7.	  	  	  Thank	  you,	  	  	  2