Japan-Republic of South Africa Relations

On August 26, commencing at 6:20 p.m. (local time; August 27  12:20 a.m. Japan time) for approximately 50 minutes, Mr. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, who was visiting Nairobi, Kenya to attend the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI), held a Japan-South Africa Summit Meeting with H.E. Mr. Jacob Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa. The overview of the meeting is as follows.

1. At the beginning of the meeting, Prime Minister Abe expressed his0 hopes to further develope favorable bilateral relations between the two countries in cooperation with President Zuma. Prime minister Abe also  welcomed President Zuma's attendance at TICAD VI and expressed his hopes to work together to lead the way to success in the historical TICAD Summit Meeting being held for the first time in Africa. In response, President Zuma expressed his pleasure for  meeting again in Africa and commented on the importance of holding this TICAD meeting in Africa to both Africa and Japan.       
2. Prime Minister Abe commented that Japan aims to cooperate in infrastructure, including the North-South Corridor Project, energy, and other areas leveraging the robust technologies of Japanese companies, and also in human resource development . In response, President Zuma emphasized the importance of infrastructure development that crosses national borders, cultivation of high-level industrial human resources, and other matters, and voiced gratitude for Japan's cooperation.    
3. Furthermore, the two leaders exchanged views on such issues as  African development and cooperation in the international arena including United Nations Security Council reforms.