Countries & Regions

On June 1, for about 15 minutes from 2:20 pm, Mr. Fumio Kishida, Foreign Minister of Japan had a meeting with H.E. Dr. Giorgis Teklemikael, Minister of National Development of the State of Eritrea, in Yokohama Japan. The following is the gist of the meeting. National Development Minister Teklemikael is visiting Japan to participate in the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) held from June 1 to 3.

1. At the beginning of the meeting, Foreign Minister Kishida welcomed National Development Minister Teklemikael’s visit to Japan and expressed his hope for development both in Africa and Japan in the wake of TICAD V, which marks the 20th anniversary of TICAD process. In response, Minister Teklemikael noted that he was encouraged by Japan’s approach in the TICAD V which supports the growth of Africa through the public-private partnership. Minister Teklemikael also expressed his expectation for Japanese companies to enter into Eritrea to promote industry, particularly in the field of renewable energy, and for Japan’s cooperation in the areas of the improvement of social infrastructure, development of human resources and agriculture.
2. Foreign Minister Kishida expressed his hope for Eritrean’s efforts to strengthen friendly relations with its neighboring countries as well as the international society from the perspective of stability in the Horn of Africa, and conveyed a message that Japan has launched assistance for improvement of the higher education system in Eritrea since last February. Foreign Minister Kishida also expressed his intention to continue to support Eritrean efforts toward national reconstruction.
3. They exchanged opinions concerning cooperation in the international arena including the development of Africa.