1-2. Boosting Economic Growth – Trade, Investment and Tourism

Progress Status Index

Annual Progress Report (PDF)

Actions to be taken in the next 5 years under the TICAD Process（Yokohama Action Plan）

Principal measures taken under the TICAD process up to February 2009

Promote and expand trade

With the aim of improving African products’ market access to Japan, METI/JETRO launched a comprehensive new program “Access Japan! －Program for African Products to Enter the Japan Market－” . A “ Product Consultation/Evaluation Service ” will be conducted in April 2009, as a first step to assess the marketability of products and give comments and advice for their improvement.

Encourage foreign investment

Three Japanese Joint Missions, consisting of the representatives of private companies and relevant government and its agencies for promoting trade and investment were dispatched to twelve African countries from August to September 2008. A comprehensive Report on the outcome of the Mission has been compiled, incorporating recommendations and suggestions from the Japanese private sector companies which participated therein and which, it is expected, will form the basis for further follow-up by the Government of Japan, the Japanese private sector and African countries themselves.

A mechanism enabling Japanese Government ODA to complement the activities of the Japanese private sector contributing to African development was established.

In order to promote Japanese investment and improve investment climate in Africa, JBIC committed financial support of US$ 740 million after TICAD IV, and is preparing policy proposal to improve investment climate in Nigeria in collaboration with UNCTAD.

Assist private sector development

ODA loans totaling up to USD 300 million has been committed (E/N base) to the AfricanDevelopment Bank.
A Wide range of technical cooperation or “Risk Money Supply” is to be implemented to support African countries to protect intellectual property and to promote development of energy and mineral resources.

Promote tourism

In order to arouse world-wide interest in the promotion of tourism to and in Africa, UNDP is in the process of organizing the Fifth Africa-Asia Business Forum (AABF), which will be held in Africa in June 2009, and which will have “the Promotion of Tourism” as its principal theme.
The staging of the 2010 World Cup Football Tournament in South Africa also provides a significant and potentially very useful platform on which to initiate and/or further develop tourism-promotion programmes under the TICAD Process.

Future challenges

▪ In order for African countries to more fully benefit from the global trading system, and in order for African economies to more fully integrate into the global economy, it is important for the long-standing WTO Doha Development Round negotiations to be concluded, and, now more than ever, to be concluded in a manner which decisively accommodates the interests of the developing world. This will require a greater degree of understanding and cooperation from the developed world.

▪ Trade-distorting subsidies, including agricultural subsidies, and other protectionist measures, which (i) inhibit investment and development in Africa and (ii) which inhibit access by African products, including agricultural products, to international markets, have to be addressed.

▪ Aid for Trade (AfT), which complements the negotiations, is also important to help Africa build its own productive capacities.

▪ In order to minimize the impact of the current global financial and economic crisis on Africa and achieve sustainable economic growth, it is necessary to promptly implement a range of assistance and support measures designed to reinforce the financial sector in Africa, including in the area of trade finance.

▪ In order to scale up trade, investment and tourism flows to and in Africa, additional attention, and support will need to be directed towards improving the overall investment climate in African countries, including the development of infrastructure and improvement in overall productivity levels.

▪ Specifically in the area of tourism-promotion in Africa, there is need for considering an increase of the scope and frequency of air-links with African countries. The building of new airport facilities and the upgrading of existing facilities in African countries constitute an important element of economic infrastructure development across the continent.