In certain respects, the end of the cold war also put an end to the geopolitical rivalries behind competition for development aid. Since then, certain countries in Africa have demonstrated the adoption of market economies and shown real progress toward democratization. Most countries of the region, however, are LLDCs in danger of being marginalized by trends in globalization. Civil war is another serious problem that many face.

In the early 1990s, interest in African affairs appeared to be on the wane. In October 1993, Japan, the UN, and the Global Coalition for Africa (GCA) cosponsored the first Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in a bid to widen its diplomatic horizons to achieve greater support and cooperation for multilateral diplomacy, to draw the international community's interest toward Africa, and to encourage Africa itself to assume the ownership of its own process. The first TICAD culminated with the Tokyo Declaration ²², which underlined the value of Africa's ownership and highlighted various challenges for the future of African development. Further, the conference itself earned high marks from the international community as an event that had effectively reaffirmed the importance of providing aid to Africa. At the ninth UN Conference on Trade and Development, held in South Africa in April 1996, Japan announced Japan's Initiatives on Assistance to Africa and proposed that the Second Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD II) be held in 1998.

TICAD II was held in Tokyo in October 1998, jointly organized by Japan, the United Nations, and the Global Coalition for Africa. At the Conference, "African Development towards the 21st Century: the Tokyo Agenda for Action" was adopted, the fruit of the tireless devotion of African leaders and their counterparts to the problems related to African development. This Agenda for Action honored the spirit of the ownership of African countries and the global partnership in accordance with the DAC New Development Strategy. This Agenda for Action highlights three cross- cutting themes (capacity building, gender mainstreaming, environmental management). It also considers (i) strengthening coordination, (ii) regional cooperation and integration, and (iii) South-South cooperation, as effective approaches for African development.

The conference also reached an agreement on priority actions with concrete goals to encourage African development. Action Plans are focused on the following three areas:

(i) Social development and poverty reduction: education, health, population and other measures to assist the poor.

(ii) Economic development: private sector development, industrial development, agricultural development and external debt.

(iii) Basic foundations for development: good governance, conflict prevention and post-conflict development.

The conference also produced an illustrative list, which is a compilation of about 370 development programs and projects which support the goals and actions of the Tokyo Agenda for Action. Moreover, Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi announced Japan's New Assistance Program for Africa, which includes approximately ¥90 billion in grant aid to the sectors of primary education, health and medical services and water resources for the forthcoming five years, a training program for 2,000 Africans over the next five years in Asia and North African countries, the establishment of an Asia-Africa Investment Information Service Center, and support for African countries' efforts to combat anti-personnel landmines ²³ as well as for debt management capacity building. The follow-up of TICAD-II will be based on the ownership of African countries of their development process, and donors including Japan will provide full support to their efforts to implement specific actions in accordance with the Tokyo Agenda for Action. To encourage these efforts, TICAD II will take concrete steps to monitor the progress made in achieving the goals and targets contained in the Tokyo Agenda for Action using appropriate development indicators, and to promote South-South cooperation ²⁴, especially between Asia and Africa, with emphasis on private sector cooperation. In addition, TICAD II contact points and an internet Web site will be established in order to carry on the participatory process of TICAD II and share information on the progress of follow-up activities.