Africa

On September 20, commencing at 7:40 p.m. (local time) for approximately 80 minutes, Mr. Taro Kono, Minister for Foreign Affairs, who was visiting New York to attend the 72nd United Nations (UN) General Assembly, hosted a dinner meeting inviting African foreign ministers. The overview of the meeting is as follows. 

1. At the beginning, Minister Kono expressed gratitude for the participants’ attendance at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) Ministerial Meeting that was held in Maputo, the Republic of Mozambique, in August 2017, and their contribution to the TICAD process; He told that at the dinner, he hopes to exchange views on peace and stability in Africa, which was also discussed at the TICAD Ministerial Meeting. Minister Kono noted the importance of “institution-building” for Africa’s peace and stability, and introduced Japan’s contributions, such as the deployment of the Japan Self-Defense Force engineering unit to South Sudan and support for peacekeeping training centers. In addition, Minister Kono stated that North Korea’s nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches pose an unprecedented, grave and imminent threat to international peace and security. 
2. In response, African foreign ministers stated that Japan is an important partner, and expressed gratitude for the support Japan extends under the TICAD process in fields such as economic diversification, infrastructure development, health, peace and stability. Furthermore, they expressed that North Korea’s nuclear tests pose a great challenge to the international community, and that they support Japan’s position including through full implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. They stated that they would continue to cooperate with Japan to maintain international peace and security, including by means of UN Security Council reform. Following that, Minister Kono and African foreign ministers actively exchanged views on future Japan-Africa cooperation and collaboration in the international field.