Second Preparatory Committee Meeting for TICAD-II
(June 19-20, 1998: Harare, Zimbabwe)
Press Release

1. The Second Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-II) is scheduled to take place in Tokyo from 19 to 21 October, 1998. TICAD-II is co-organized by the Government of Japan, the United Nations (Office of the Special Coordinator for Africa and the Least Developed Countries and UNDP), and the Global Coalition for Africa. TICAD-II will adopt an Agenda for Action, which is intended to guide actions by African countries and their development partners to make further progress in African development toward the 21st century. The Preparatory Committee, which was established to take up the task of preparing the TICAD-II Agenda for Action, consists of 8 African countries, 2 Asian countries, 5 donor countries, 6 international/ regional organizations and 3 co-organizers.
2. The second meeting of the Preparatory Committee was held in Harare from 19 to 20 June, 1998, following the first one in Dakar last March. The meeting was hosted by the Government of Zimbabwe and opened by H.E. Mr. N.T. Goche, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs. It was co-chaired by H.E. Mr. C.N.C. Mangwana, Deputy Secretary for Regional and International Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Zimbabwe, H.E. Mr. Kunio Katakura, Ambassador for TICAD-II of Japan, and Mr. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, Executive Secretary of GCA. The main purpose of the meeting was to review the first draft of the Agenda for Action.
3. The Agenda for Action aims at formulating actions that would help accelerate growth, in a sustainable way, for poverty alleviation and further integration of African countries in the global economy. It is based on the ownership of African countries of their development process and partnership between African countries and their development partners. The process of preparing the Agenda for Action emphasizes African ownership. To duely reflect the views of African countries in the Agenda for Action, two regional workshops were held prior to the Harare meeting, in Burkina Faso and Namibia, respectively. The representatives of these countries were invited to make their inputs at the meeting in Harare.
4. In order to realize the potential and improve the well-being of African people, the Agenda for Action mainly focuses on: 1) building human resources through enhanced access to basic education and primary health care (including HIV/AIDS), 2) fostering the development of the private sector, including industrial development, revitalizing agriculture, and achieving durable solution to external debt problems; and 3) ensuring good governance, conflict prevention and post-conflict development. TICAD-II also intends to promote regional cooperation. It further seeks in particular to strengthen the cooperation between Asia and Africa, taking advantage of the lessons learned in Asian development experience.
5. In closing, the participants thanks the Government of Zimbabwe for its hospitality and for ensuring the success of the meeting. The third meeting of the Preparatory Committee is planned to be held in Ethiopia on 7-8 September, to finalize the draft Agenda for Action before the convening of the TICAD-II plenary on 19-21 October.