TICAD IV Regional Preparatory Meeting in Tunis
(North, West and Central Africa)

22 Nov. Tunis, Tunisia

1. From 21 (Wed) to 22 (Thurs) November, the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) Regional Preparatory Meeting (North, West and Central Africa) was held in Tunis, Tunisia. This meeting was co-organized by Japan, whose delegation was headed by H.E. Mr. Nobutake ODANO, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary for TICAD IV and other co-organizers, namely, UNOSAA (United Nations Office of Special Advisor on Africa), UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) and World Bank. The meeting was attended by around 200 participants who included delegates from 27 North, West and Central African countries as well as 17 other countries, 7 regional and sub-regional institutions and 17 international organizations as well as 7 NGOs.
2. The purpose of this meeting was to explain from the co-organizers the current status of preparation for TICAD IV and to hear in particular from the regional participants concrete issues, as well as their views and concerns which were related to the priorities of TICAD IV in order to determine the agenda and produce the desired results at TICAD IV.
3. On the first day of the meeting (21 November), after the opening speech by H.E. Ms. Saida Chitoui, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tunisia, Ambassador Odano explained in the plenary session the purpose and concept of TICAD I. Mr. Shigeyuki Hiroki, Deputy Director-General of International Cooperation Bureau, MOFA, Japan, emphasized the significance of TICAD IV in its relation to the G8 Summit which Japan will host.
4. In the following four break-out regional sub-group sessions, participants discussed in detail the following topics; Acceleration of Growth, Achieving MDGs, Consolidation of Peace and Democratization, and Addressing Environmental/Climate Change issues.
5. On the second day of the meeting (22 November), under the theme of "Strengthening Partnership", participants discussed issues pertaining to Asia-Africa Cooperation and Intra-Africa/Regional Cooperation. In the discussions, particular emphasis was placed on the importance on South-South cooperation within Africa.
6. After these discussions, Chairs of regional sub-groups reported back to the Plenary on the outcome of the break-out sessions held the previous day. A representative of the Civil Society also reported on the outcome of the NGO dialogue, which was also held the day before.
7. This preparatory meeting also took advantage of the fact that the International Solidarity Conference on Climate Change Strategies for African and Mediterranean Regions was held in Tunis during 18-20 November and the Government of Tunisia shared the outcomes of this conference with the participants.
8. At the closing session, Mr.Chelaifa concluded the meeting by reading the message in which he underscored the relevance of the meeting as part of preparations for TICAD IV.