Statement by the Press Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, on the Election of a Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission

July 17, 2012
Japanese

Japan expresses its congratulations on the selection of candidate Ms Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma as Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, at the election held at the 19th AU Ordinary Session on Sunday, July 15.
Japan appreciates AU member countries’ efforts to overcome differences of opinion and achieve this election of a new Chairperson as further strengthening of the leadership capacity of the AU, which is proactively engaging in resolving various challenges in Africa under the slogan of “the integration of Africa”.
Japan expresses its respect for the achievements and leadership shown during the four-year tenure of AU Commission Chairperson Mr. Jean Ping, along with expressing appreciation for the contribution that Chairperson Ping made to deepening Japan-AU relations during his tenure, including the AU Commission’s joint as the co-organizer of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) process.
Also, in the future, Japan intends to support the AU’s endeavors, which are an expression of Africa’s ownership, along with cooperating closely toward the holding of the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) in June next year with the new executive of the AU Commission, which is one of the co-organizers of the TICAD V.

(*The foregoing is a provisional translation. The date indicated above denotes the date of issue of the original press release in Japanese.)

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