The sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (Ticad) kicked off Friday, with President Uhuru Kenyatta and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe holding a joint press conference at State House, Nairobi to outline the agenda of the two-day summit. Speaking at the press briefing, Abe said Japan will work with Africa to realise the “African Dream”.
He said Japan is looking forward to contributing to the realisation of that goal through its transfer of high quality technology and human resource development. “High quality technology and human resource development will improve, for example, agriculture production, which in turn will improve the people's quality of life,” said Abe.
“The key to economic development is industrialisation and Africa is facing several challenges in the industry sector. We hope that sharing experiences will help in solving some of these problems.” The PM said the Ticad conference in Nairobi, the first in Africa, will strengthen the bond between Japan and Africa.
His host, President Uhuru, noted that the Ticad process has over the years become an important focal point for African development. “Since its inception, Ticad has been a key forum for informed discussion on African development between Africa and Japan as well as other parts of the world.
It has matured into a first class multi-lateral forum attracting leaders in business, government as well as civil society,” he said. Uhuru also asked Kenyans to welcome the thousands of delegates and Heads of State who are in the city for the conference.
Abe, who arrived in the country yesterday, is accompanied by chief executives of at least 75 major companies, who will participate in the conference which officially starts Saturday. Before the joint press conference, Prime Minister Abe laid a wreath at the mausoleum of the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first President, at Parliament grounds.
He later attended a welcoming at State House, which was accompanied by a 19-gun salute. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visit to Kenya marks the first visit by a Japanese Prime Minister in 15 years, since Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori visited in 2001(accompanied by then Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe), and is the very first state visit by a Japanese premier.
More than 30 African Heads of State and a number of leaders from the international development partners are expected to attend the conference. In the other side events held today, Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida, held a meeting with Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Ambassador Amina Mohamed.
During the meeting, Kishida thanked Kenya for her efforts to ensure success of the Ticad V1 conference saying he was looking forward to the signing of the Japan-Kenya Investment Agreement in the next few days. He added that Japan and Kenya will cooperate to realise the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) reform.
Amina also praised Japan’s long-standing support to Kenya saying the bilateral ties will be boosted by Prime Minister Abe's visit and the choice of the country to host the Ticad conference. Today, Japan’s Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Shunsuke Takei, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni attended a High-Level Side Event; “Ticad Support for Good Governance in Africa” hosted by the UN.
Takei said peace and stability cannot be achieved without democratic governance, adding that it is also an integral component in the Agenda 2063 and Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. He welcomed the active peace and security initiatives by African countries and stressed the importance of deepening discussion for implementing the existing policy framework.
The other key participants at the event include Maged Abdelaziz, Under Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Africa, Ms Mariam Mahamat Nour, Minister of Planning and Prospective of the Republic of Chad.
The discussions focused on the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and the African Governance Architecture (AGA), African Union initiatives for enhancing political and economic governance, as well as the proposed APRM Index and African Human Security Index.
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