Countries & Regions

On June 2, for 15 minutes from 11:30 am, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida had a meeting with H.E. Mr. Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti, Minister of External Relations of the Republic of Angola, in Yokohama, Japan. The following is the gist of the meeting. Minister Chikoti is visiting Japan to participate in the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) currently held from June 1 to 3.

1. At the beginning of the meeting, Minister Kishida welcomed the visit of Minister Chikoti to Japan, and expressed his hope for development both in Africa and Japan as well as strengthening of Angola-Japan relations in the wake of TICAD V, which marks the 20th anniversary of TICAD process. In response, Minister Chikoti said that TICAD V is held in historically significant timing and expressed his gratitude for Japan’s considerable assistance for Africa. Minister Chikoti also stated that the Japanese private sector expresses a great interest in Angola, so that Angola is willing to cooperate in order to respond to its expectations.
2. Foreign Minister Kishida mentioned that Japan has decided to launch technical assistance for Angola in the field of promoting rice cultivation in addition to the field of mineral resources. Minister Kishida expressed his hope to support human resources development that would contribute to the well-balanced development of the country. Furthermore, Minister Kishida expressed his expectation for the improvement of business environment, such as expediting visa-issuing procedures, in order to encourage the investment of Japanese companies which would contribute to the transfer of technologies and diversification of industry in Angola. In response, Minister Chikoti said that he would make an effort to improve the visa situation by setting up a team to expedite the procedures, and cooperate with Japan for the prompt conclusion of an investment agreement.
3. The Ministers also exchanged views on cooperation in the international arena including the development of Africa.