Elaborations on Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi’s Speech at the Asian-African Summit April 22, 2005 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan [Note] This document supplements and elaborates on the contents of Prime Minister Koizumi’s speech at the Asian-African Summit. It may be used, together with the Speech, as Prime Minister Koizumi’s initiative at the Summit. Items with asterisks (*) elaborate on a topic directly mentioned in the Speech. Ⅰ.Development Assistance .. Japan’s ODA* ・ Prime Minister Koizumi announced: “Japan will continue its efforts towards the goal of providing official development assistance (ODA) of 0.7% of our gross national income in order to contribute to the Millennium Development Goals. From this point of view, Japan will ensure a credible and sufficient level of ODA”. (Note 1) Japanese ODA for Asia and Africa Ever since 1978, Japan remains the top ODA donor for Asia, with its net disbursement of more than $100 billion in cumulative total from 1960. Japan's ODA has made significant contribution to economic development and poverty reduction in Asian countries, in infrastructure building, human resources development and many other ways. Particularly, at the time of the Asian financial crisis in 1997, Japan committed $80 billion of assistance in total, which helped Asian countries overcome the crisis and return to growth. Japan's bilateral ODA to Africa is approximately $24 billion in cumulative total. Through the TICAD process, Japan has provided support for a widerange of sectors such as agriculture, water supply, education, as well as humanitarian and reconstructionassistance in conflict areas. .. Disaster Prevention* “Male seawall project which has been developed by Japan over past ten years has providedthe Male people with safety”. (Statement in the wake of the Indian Ocean Tsunami) (H.E. Mr. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, President of the Republic of Maldives, February 2, 2005) ・ Japan will be providing more than US$ 2.5 billion (including more than US$ 1.5 billion of grant aid) over the next five years in assistance for disaster prevention and mitigation, and reconstruction measures in Asia, Africa and other regions, including rehabilitation and reconstruction for the recent Tsunami disaster and establishment of the Tsunami Early Warning System in the Indian Ocean. (Note 2) Japan’s assistance for the tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean In January 2005, Japan extended US$ 500 million of grant as emergency and humanitarian assistance and dispatched Disaster Relief Teams including the Japan Self Defense Forces to devastated countries. Japanhosted the UN World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe and expressed cooperation to build an early warning system. (See Annex 1) (Note 3) Provision of Tsunami Watch Information for the Indian Ocean at the occurrence of the March 28th earthquake off Sumatra As an interim measure to be carried out until the Tsunami Early Warning System becomes fully operational in the Indian Ocean region (whose establishment was called for at UN World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, January 2005), Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) started to provide Tsunami Watch Information in coordination with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) in Hawaii. At the occurrence of the March 28th earthquake off Sumatra, JMA provided Tsunami Watch Information to Indonesia and 10 neighbouring countries. (See Annex 2) .. Expansion of Market Access for LDCs* ・ Prime Minister Koizumi expressed: “・・・Japan will be seeking concrete actions to further expand market access to products from the least developed countries in order to support their self-reliance”. 1 (Note 4) Expansion of market access for LDCs can include improvement in market access through assistance to LDCs by capacity building measures. .. Support for Asia .. . Building New Partnership in Asia* ・Japan will assist in building new partnership in Asia. Japan will consider and by December decide on concrete measures, such as assistance for capacity building as well as development of developing countries, for narrowing development gaps, promoting economic partnership and sustainable growth through trade and investment in Asia. (Note 5) Development gaps in Asia GDP of newer ASEAN member countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) accounts for only 8% of total ASEAN GDP. GDP per capita of Myanmar (about US$ 195) is undrer one hundredth of that of Singapore (about US$ 20,000). In South Asia, those of Nepal (about US$ 240) and Bangladesh (about US$ 380) also remain at low levels. .. . Combating Transnational Crime ・ Transnational crimes including terrorism, piracy*, human trafficking and illicit drugs pose a serious threat to the region and are impediments to economic development ・ Japan will strengthen its assistance for capacity building and providing of equipment to address the problem. (Note 6) Japan’s actions to combat transnational crime The Bali bombing in 2002 killed about 200 people. The Number of piracy cases in the Straits of Malacca is increasing (21cases in 2002 →45 cases in 2004). There are regional and international frameworks includingAPEC and ARF mechanisms for terrorism, “Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia” for piracy, Bali process on human trafficking. Utilising and coordinating with theseand other frameworks, Japan has conducted capacity building programmes for enhancing law enforcementcapabilities of maritime safety, customs and other organizations, and has provided equipment including metal detectors and identification equipment. .. Support for Africa “Japan’s commitment to the development of .. . TICAD IV in 2008* Africa is further demonstrated by the ・Prime Minister Koizumi announced: “Japan important initiatives through the TICAD,will hold TICAD IV (the Fourth Tokyo valuable platform of engagingInternational Conference on African developmental issues”. Development ) in 2008・・・.” (H.E.Mr. Mbeki, President of South Africa) (Note 7) TICAD TICAD, initiated in 1993, is one of the world’s largest forums for African development, co-organized by Japan, United Nations and others. The TICAD Summit-level meetings were held in Tokyo in 1993, 1998 and 2003. Nearly 100 countries including not only Africa and western donor countries but also Asian and other countries as emerging donors participate in TICAD. .. . Doubling Japan’s ODA to Africa* ・ Prime Minister Koizumi announced: “・・・in the three years to come Japan will double its ODA to Africa, with grant aid continuing to be its central feature”. .. Agriculture In order to realise the “Green Revolution” in Africa, Japan will strengthen its support for increasing agricultural productivity through, for example, enhancement of the NERICA (New Rice for Africa) project and rural-development. (Note 8) NERICA is the result of cross-fertilisation of high-yield Asian rice and insect and drought-resistant African rice. .. Trade and Investment (follow-up of the “TICAD Asia-Africa Trade and Investment Conference (AATIC)” held in November 2004.) Japan will extend assistance focusing on “supply side” capacity building including assistance in policyformulation and technical assistance for the promotion of trade and investment in Africa. Japan will also help Africa strengthen its system for training and information sharing. 2 .. . Coordination with AfDB ・ For private-sector development and the improvement of investment climate in Africa, Japan proposes and has begun consultations with the African Development Bank (AfDB) group regarding the following measures: (1) Japan would establish a multi-donor Special Trust Fund in the AfDB with a target size of US$ 200 million over five years (Japan stands ready to contribute for 20% of the Fund.), and (2) in partnership with the AfDB, Japan would extend its Yen loan, which is known for its concessionality, up to US$ 1 billion over five years. .. . Addressing Africa’s Debt Issue ・As the largest contributor among all creditor countries (approximately one-fourth of the G7 contribution) in the HIPC Initiative which covers many African countries, Japan will actively work towards the promotion of the Initiative. .. . African Village Initiative ・ This initiative, based on the notion of “Human Security”, aims at comprehensively supporting rural community development by combining infrastructure development, capacity building of people and other measures so that rural communities can stand on their own. (Annex 3) In Thaiba Ndiaye Village, Japan built a water tower and thereafter provided support for buildingmanagement skills of village people’s Water Association. Through this process, capacity of the community and their sense of ownership were enhanced and the village people are now spontaneously engaged infarming stocks such as poultry, in supplying free water to the needy and in investing in their own community infrastructure. “...what is important is for the communities to build its capacity to manage water, schools and health facilities on their own and gain self-reliance”. (Ms. Sadako OGATA, President of JICA) .. . Providing Anti-Malaria Bed-Nets ・ In Africa, there are about 40 million Malaria patients. Approximately one million people die from Malaria every year, most of whom are under 5 years old. Japan has decided to provide 10 million long-lasting insecticidal-treated nets by 2007, in response to “Quick Wins Actions” mentioned in the “Millennium Project Report” edited by Dr. Jeffrey Sachs. (Note 9) Long Lasting Insecticidal Treated Nets (LLITNs) This bed net is made by polyethylene with insecticide being weaved within fibers which is wash proof and will last its effect, at least, 5 years. Because of its durability, safeness and effectiveness, this LLITN was approved byWHO and is well-utilised by WHO and UNICEF .. Asia-Africa (AA) Cooperation ・ Japan will promote and further enhance Asia-Africa cooperation mainly through the TICAD process which has become widely recognized as the prime international framework to promote Asia-Africa cooperation. ・ Japan aims to support capacity building of more than 10,000 persons from Africa over the next four years (by the next AA Summit) through Asia-Africa cooperation and other measures.* .. . Creating “Asia-Africa Young Volunteers”* ・ With a view to promoting AA cooperation, this new scheme dispatches Asian youngsters to Africa aiming at youth exchange and human resource development at the same time. ・ Framework of the UN Volunteers (UNV) programme will be utilized. Collaboration with Japanese youngsters including Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) at the field level is also envisaged. (Note 10) UNV Since 1971, the UNV has recruited UN Volunteers from all over the world who intend to contribute to development assistance, emergency aid in conflict areas and post-conflict peace building activities. It has 3 dispatched more than 5,000 volunteers annually worldwide (142 countries in 2003) in recent years. Japan has assisted the UNV through its voluntary contributions since 1994. (Note 11) JOCVs in Africa A total of 7,980 (2,524 women) JOCVs have been dispatched to 22 African countries since 1965. 669 (293 women) JOCVs are on duty as of February 2005. .. . Disseminating the Productivity Movement from Asia to Africa* ・The productivity movement has been the driving force of sustainable economic development in Japan as well as other Asian countries. Japan will disseminate this movement to Africa and extend further support through public and private sectors so that management skills for higher productivity could be enrooted in African countries. (Note 12) Asian productivity movement “Japan Productivity Center for Socio-Economic Development (JPC-SED)” (established in 1955), and “Asian Productivity Organization (APO)”(an international organization, established in 1961) have successfully played pivotal roles both in enrooting a mind-set of self-establishment into Asian people and in transferring the management skills such as “KAIZEN (Make a habit of attempting a small day-by-day improvement or innovation)”, and 5S (Seiri (Sort) ”, ”Seiton (Straighten)”, ”Seiso (Shine)”, ”Seiketsu (Standardize)”, ”Shitsuke (Sustain)”) to them. APO has organized about 5,000 projects, such as the dispatch of technical experts and various training courses and seminars, and about 37,000 people have participated in these projects in the past 40 years (1961-2001). .. TICAD Exchange ・Trade and investment between Asia and Africa has doubled over the last decade. In order to further promote business between the two regions, the TICAD process will establish a network to facilitate the exchange of business-related information via IT and interaction in both public- and private-sectors. (Note13) Trade between Asia and Africa Nominal annual growth rate of trade between 1992 and 2002 (Source: World Development Indicator 2004) Growth rate of export from Sub-Saharan Africa to East Asia averaged 27.6% (to the world, 8.8% ) Growth rate of export from East Asia to Sub-Saharan Africa averaged 15.8% (to the world, 11.2% ) Ⅱ.Support for “Peace Building”* Japan’ intention to “strengthen cooperation for the consolidation of peace and nation building in countries suffering from conflict. This policy has become a new pillar of Japan’s internationalcooperation”. (Prime Minister Koizumi, May 2002) .. Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the North and the South in Sudan ・ Japan will provide a package of ODA assistance totaling $100 million for the near term, following the conclusion in January of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement. ・ Donation in kind (trucks, 4 x 4 vehicles, land mine detectors, generators and tents) worth estimated US$ 2 million (currently under consultation with the United Nations) to the United Nations for the use of African countries’ troops participating in the United Nations Mission in the Sudan. ・ Ready to dispatch a civilian government official to the United Nations Mission in the Sudan. .. . Middle East Peace Process* ・ Japan's assistance in FY 2004 tripled from the previous year to US$ 90 million, in order to strengthen the political foundation of President Abbas. ・Japan will actively provide assistance in: ①Humanitarian areas to stabilize and improve the civil life of the Palestinians; ②Palestinian Authority's institutional reform including public finance reform; ③Confidence-building between the Palestinians and Israelis; and, 4 ④Assistance over the medium to long term for a self-sustaining Palestinian economy .. . Afghanistan* ・ Japan actively assists the DDR (Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration) process as well as rural development so as to see the success of the parliamentary election in September and the progress of full scale nation building. (Note 14) Japanese assistance to date Japan co-hosted the International Conference on Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan in Tokyo, January2002. Japan has disbursed $870 million for support of the peace process, improvement of security including DDR, and reconstruction such as infrastructure and rural development. .. . Africa* ・ Responding to the significant progress in peace processes for many conflicts in Africa, Japan extended assistance of approximately US$60 million to 14 African countries in March 2005 (Annex 4). ・ Japan will actively provide its seamless support for the smooth transition from the post-conflict phase to the reconstruction and development phase. .. . Contribution to a Peacebuilding Fund ・ Japan is ready to play a leading role with regard to the idea of establishing “a voluntary standing fund for peacebuilding.” (Note 15) The Report of the UN Secretary-General on March 20 2005 mentioned: “・・・agree to establish and support a voluntary standing fund for peacebuilding” in paragraph 6 of Chapter II of Annex. Ⅲ.Cultural Cooperation “It is essential that we nurture, prize, and support the diverse cultures and historical experiences..... We simply cannot conceive of development without cultural continuity.” (Mr. James D. Wolfensohn, World Bank President) .. “World Civilization Forum”* ・Japan will host the “World Civilization Forum” in Tokyo in July 2005. Prominent figures in academics, business, politics, journalism, and culture representing each civilization or region will attend the forum. ・ Through intellectual dialogue among civilizations, the international community will share in each nation’s experience in modernisation while maintaining its tradition, thereby enhancing partnership based on cultural diversity. .. Cultural Grand Aid ・In the past five years, Japan has provided approximately US$ 56 million for 172 projects in Asian and African countries. ・Projects relating to preservation, restoration, or improvement of cultural heritages include the Valleyof the Kings (Egypt), My Son Sanctuary (Vietnam) and Arge-e-Bam (Iran) .. Japan's contribution for the preservation and promotion of cultural heritages in Asia and Africa by UNESCO /Japanese Funds-in-Trust ・Tangible heritages (Total amount for AA countries: US$ 44.28 million) → Angkor Monuments (Cambodia), Gandhara Buddhist Monuments (Pakistan), The Royal Palaces of Abomey (Benin), Saint Sebastian's Fortress (Mozambique), etc. ・Intangible heritages (Total amount for AA countries: US$ 4.87 million ) → Hudhud Chants of the Ifugao (Philippines), Wayang Puppet Theatre (Indonesia), the Cultural Space of Sosso-Bala in Nyagassola (Guinea), Woodcrafting Knowledge of the Zafimaniry(Madagascar), etc. 5