Speech by Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori "Africa and Japan in the New Century", at Gallagher Estate, Midrand, Republic of South Africa (Summary)

January 9, 2001

1. Introduction

Through the dialogues with African leaders and a detailed account of African situation given by Ms. Sadako Ogata, former U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, accompanying to my visit to Africa, I became more firmly convinced than ever that "the 21st Century is the century in which Africa will finally make big strides", and that "there will be no stability and prosperity in the world in the 21st Century unless the problems of Africa are resolved". I definitely wanted to express the firm determination of the Japanese people to expend all our might to aid in the process of Africa overcoming its difficulties and building a bright future.

2. "There will be no stability and prosperity in the world in the 21st Century unless the problems of Africa are resolved."

Africa was originally blessed with the richness of nature and with vibrant human resources. But Africa has suffered from the negative legacy of its past, and now continues to face a variety of problems, such as poverty, conflicts and infectious diseases. It would be unthinkable to talk about "the world of tomorrow" without considering sub-Saharan Africa, which contains one quarter of the world's nations. If it can overcome the difficulties it faces and open the way toward a bright future, Africa will probably become the driving force behind vibrant development of human society in the 21st Century. Indeed, "there will be no stability and prosperity in the world in the 21st Century unless the problems of Africa are resolved".

3. Japan's Commitment to Addressing the Problems of Africa

Since the independence of many African countries from colonial rulers, Japan has been steadily increasing its involvement with Africa. With the start of the new century, I want to reiterate Japan's unwavering commitment to Africa, a land that holds the key to the future of humanity. Addressing the problems of Africa is one of the most important issues for our global foreign policy.

4. Two wheels of cooperation with Africa

(1) When we promote cooperation with Africa, our nation believes we should address support for development and conflict prevention / refugee aid as if they were two wheels of a cart.

(2) Japan's peace diplomacy of the 21st Century places human security at its core. Our success or failure in establishing human security in Africa will test the merits of Japan's foreign policy. Our optimism that people can overcome any difficulty through development of human potential and cooperation between people underpins our stance toward cooperation; that stance is based not on acts of charity, but on always viewing others at the same eye level and acting as fellow human beings.

(3) It is important for developmental support and conflict prevention / support for refugees to be organically linked. Our country wants to work hard to allow international organizations, governments, non-governmental organization and other parties to build smooth cooperative relations.

(Support for development)

(a) TICAD

In 1993 and 1998, Japan sponsored meetings of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or TICAD. In preparation for holding a TICAD III in the future, Japan proposes to hold ministerial-level talks on African development in Tokyo this December.

Japan believes there are three points of focus to consider in the future TICAD process: positioning TICAD as forum where Africans themselves can discuss development strategies (ex: the "Africa Development Plan" being prepared by the nations of Africa based on the Mbeki plan), further development of south-south cooperation (ex: cooperation between Asia and Africa, cooperation within Africa, the Asia Africa Forum, a forum such as a "conference of Asian and African eminent persons"), cooperation in the fight against AIDS and other infectious diseases and cooperation on information technology as new areas of focus.

(b) Cooperation in the fight against infectious diseases

Japan announced in the "Okinawa ID (Infectious Diseases) Initiative" at the G8 Summit that we intend to provide US$ 3 billion in aid over the next five years. We intend to make active use of this for Africa. We will spread cooperation to the other countries of Africa from research bases in places like Kenya, Ghana and Zambia at its core. From the standpoint of promoting even further cooperation with Africa regarding the problem of infectious diseases, we plan to send a high-level study mission to relevant countries early this year.

(c) Cooperation on information technology

Spreading information and communications technology is an effective way to close gaps in economic development. In order to consider what kind of cooperation is possible in this field, we will send a high-level study mission, and confer with relevant countries.

(Conflict prevention and support for refugees)

(a) Development and political stability are inseparable. Japan has provided personnel, financial and intellectual support for the ensuring of political stability in Africa. Japan wish to stress the foolishness of wasting an irreplaceable resource - people - through continued conflicts

(b) Rather than resolving ongoing battles, it is easier and less costly to prevent conflict, or prevent the resumption of fighting once it has stopped. Our preparation of the "G8 Miyazaki Initiative on Conflict Prevention" at last year's G8 summit, our emphasis on support for refugees, are all based on this kind of thinking.

(c) It is important to organically link conflict prevention/ refugee support and development with the degree to which people like refugees and demobilized soldiers can be reintegrated into society and induced to participate in nation building.

5. Japan and Africa ... Heart to Heart Exchange Plan

Mutual exchange between Japan and Africa is important. I am convinced that it is only when there is a foundation of heart-to-heart grass roots-level broad mutual understanding and friendship that various political and economic activities can produce abundant fruit. We hope for a steady broadening of the base of exchange when we consider the future of Japanese-African relations, which we expect to see expanding greatly. I would like to expand in the two areas of cultural and youth exchange, which I see as particularly important.

(1) Focusing on implementing Japanese-African exchange projects on occasions such as the TICAD III that we plan to hold in the future.
(2) Promote systematic exchange between Japanese and African artists, art museum representatives and theatrical artists, etc.
(3) Giving appropriate protection to the various cultural assets of Africa, both tangible and intangible, in order to enrich cultural exchange between Japan and Africa.
(4) Using actively various systems in place to address Japanese-African exchange, with an emphasis on young people, to facilitate the exchange of about 6,000 people over the next three years.