TICAD
The 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) Plenary Session 2 (Economy)
August 21, 2025
On August 21, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, former Prime Minister of Japan, attended Plenary Session 2 of the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9), serving as Acting Co-chair, which was held from 9:30 a.m. for approximately 130 minutes.
- At the outset, former Prime Minister KISHIDA emphasized the importance of investment in the future to contribute to solving Africa's challenges through public-private collaboration, and introduced Japan's initiatives in this field. This includes promoting growth leveraging the vitality of the private sector, strengthening regional integration and connectivity with other regions, and economic deiversification.
- Following that, a keynote speech was delivered by Ms. Cristina DUARTE, Under-Secretary-General (USG) and Special Adviser of the United Nations Secretary-General on Africa. Subsequently, lively discussions were held among African heads of state and other participants. They referred to the potential for economic growth leveraging Africa’s potential, including abundant natural resources and the dynamism of its young people and women. They pointed out challenges to achieving this, such as industrial development including the utilization of mineral resources, economic diversification, good governance including the development of legal systems, infrastructure development, intra-regional trade and strengthening of value chain through the African Continental Free Trade Area, digitalization, investment in people through education and human resource development, debt issues, appropriate financing, and improved energy access. They also exchanged opinions on green and blue economies and expressed expectations for innovative solutions to challenges using advanced technologies such as AI. Furthermore, they pointed out the importance of building sustainable relationships based on mutual trust, and expressed expectations for further investment of Japanese companies in Africa and strengthened partnerships.
