Fourth TICAD Ministerial Follow-up Meeting (overview)

May 7, 2012
Japanese

On Saturday, May 5, and Sunday, May 6, Mr. Koichiro Gemba, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, served as co-chair for the Fourth TICAD Ministerial Follow-up Meeting in Marrakech, Morocco. The overview of the meeting is as follows:

1. Participants and Agenda

(1) Participants

Approximately 470 participants from 78 countries (including 49 African countries, 34 ministerial-level heads of delegations), 31 regional and, international organizations, NGOs, and the private sector participated in the meeting. From Japan, Mr. Koichiro Gemba, Minister for Foreign Affairs, participated and hosted the meeting as co-chair with H.E. Dr. Saad Dine El Otmani, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Morocco, the host country.

(2) Agenda

Saturday, May 5

Agenda 1:
Status of Implementation of the Yokohama Action Plan (YAP) and the Outcome Framework of TICAD V

Agenda 2:
Africa's Current Economic Growth and Underlying Challenges

Agenda 3:
Achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Africa and beyond 2015(Post MDGs)

Sunday, May 6

Agenda 4:
Addressing Domestic as well as Cross-Border Challenges

1) Consolidation of Peace and Good Governance
2) Climate Change

(3) Summary of the Discussion

At the meeting, participants reviewed progress on the implementation of the Yokohama Action Plan and discussed issues to be stressed at TICAD V, as the starting point for preparation towards TICAD V, which is scheduled to be held from June 1 to 3, 2013.

2. Overview of each Session

(1) Opening Ceremony

At the beginning of the meeting, Minister Gemba stated that this meeting marked the starting point for TICAD V scheduled to be held in June next year, and also stated his intention to further promote cooperation among a wide range of stakeholders such as the private sector and civil society organizations towards the success of TICAD V.

(2) Overview of each Session

Agenda 1: Status of Implementation of the Yokohama Action Plan (YAP) and the Outcome Framework of TICAD V

The participants reviewed the progress on the implementation of the Yokohama Action Plan and discussed issues to be stressed at TICAD V. Participants appreciated that Japan has been faithfully implementing its pledges made at TICAD IV while making efforts to recover from the Great East Japan Earthquake.

The participants shared the view that TICAD V should place renewed emphasis on boosting economic growth, while keeping its focus on inclusive growth including reducing economic disparity.

Minister Gemba reported that there had been steady progress on the implementation of the "Yokohama Action Plan". He proposed that at TICAD V:

1) "acceleration of growth" would be focused on;
2) participants should address various challenges such as natural disasters; and
3) the efforts by African countries should be reflected in the next action plan in light of their ownership.

Participating countries agreed on the proposal.

Agenda 2: Africa's Current Economic Growth and Underlying Challenges

The participants shared the view that while Africa had achieved remarkable economic growth, there had been downside risks as well. There were opinions expressed that in order to strengthen growth, mobilizing resources of the private sector was crucial and further support from development partners was required for the efforts made by the African side.

Minister Gemba pointed out that infrastructure development was the priority for African countries and that it was important to effectively utilize yen loans as well as private resources through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). He also stated that he would consider means of cooperation toward the expansion of investment from the private sector. Moreover, he mentioned the importance of agriculture from the viewpoint of food security and expressed his intention to actively support the business of Japanese enterprises with Africa.

In addition, on behalf of the private sector, Mr. Akio Dobashi, Chair of the Committee on Sub-Saharan Africa of Keidanren, stated that Japanese firms kept their strong interests in Africa and would like to expand business with the continent through coordination between the public and private sectors.

Agenda 3: Achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Africa and beyond 2015 (Post MDGs)

Concerning the current MDGs, the participants shared the view that although some progress had been made on targets such as job creation and improved enrollment in primary education, many indicators such as the maternal mortality, the child mortality and malaria showed little progress and therefore efforts towards 2015 needed to be accelerated. Views were expressed that to this end, further support from development partners, as well as the efforts from Africa, were expected.

Moreover, concerning the Post MDGs, participants shared the view that holistic guidelines, including on human security, should be established. Furthermore, there were many opinions in support of Japan's efforts toward the establishment for a post-MDGs framework, such as efforts to comprise job creation and disaster prevention in post-MDGs, which the current MDGs do not sufficiently cover. The participants shared the view that discussions should be deepened toward the TICAD V.

Agenda 4: Addressing Domestic as well as Cross-Border Challenges

1) Consolidation of Peace and Good Governance

The participants stressed the linkage between peace and development and appreciated the fact that the number of conflicts had reduced in Africa, where people had experienced many conflicts in the past.

On the other hand, participants pointed out that there remained conflicts and political turmoil due to various reasons and that peace was fragile in some regions. They also expressed concerns over the fact that in recent years, challenges caused by cross-border issues and external factors had emerged in the continent. It was stressed that to solve these problems, collective efforts and actions taken by Africa were important, and that support from international society toward such efforts was required.

The participants shared the view that at TICAD V, issues on achievement of peace and stability should be discussed and the agenda in order for international society including Japan to continue to support Africa's efforts was necessary.

Moreover, regarding piracy, the participants shared the view that they would take a firm stance on piracy by enhancing the maritime law enforcement and judicial capacity of coastal countries.

2) Climate Change

The participants shared the view that floods and droughts caused by climate change had been the threats in African countries. At the same time, they shared the necessity of efforts in the area of adaptation such as water, food and agriculture and in the area of mitigation including renewable energy, some referring that realizing the "green growth" would bring about an opportunity of further growth of African countries.

Minister Gemba presented an interim report of the "African Green Growth Strategy" which was announced to be formulated at the TICAD Ministerial-Level Follow-up Meeting last year and stated that Japan would closely consult with African countries to draft the final report. The participants expressed their gratitude to the support from Japan, valuing Japan's efforts to formulate the strategy and expressing the expectations of its materialization at TICAD V.

3. Adoption of Communiqué

As an outcome of the meeting, a communiqué was adopted as the direction towards TICAD V and delivering the position of Africa in international arenas such as the G8 and/or G20 Summits and at Rio+20.

4. Bilateral Talks

On the occasion of his participation in the meeting, Minister Gemba held bilateral talks with ministers from Sudan, South Sudan, Benin, Zimbabwe, Senegal, and Tanzania. The talks included topics such as the strengthening of bilateral relations and discussion toward TICAD V. Moreover, Minister Gemba also held conversations with many other participants at the meeting.

(* The foregoing is a provisional translation. The date indicated above denotes the date of issue of the original version in Japanese.)

Communiqué (English [PDF]

, French [PDF]

)

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