Countries & Regions

On June 3, for about 20 minutes from 4:20 p.m., Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had a meeting with Dr. Joseph E. Stiglitz, Professor of Columbia University, in Yokohama Japan. The following is the gist of the meeting. Professor Stiglitz 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, Prime Minister Abe expressed his welcome of Dr. Stiglitz’s participation in the TICAD V, and his appreciation for Dr. Stiglitz’s remarks in the plenary meeting. Also, Prime Minister Abe stated that what he told Dr. Stiglitz in March, that is, it is important for many people to enjoy benefits from economic growth, is very true to Africa, thus a basic concept of TICAD V is to distribute benefits from economic growth in Africa to all people living in Africa. In response, Dr. Stiglitz said that TICAD V is very interesting in a sense that the concept which Prime Minister Abe just pointed out is being shared among the participating countries, and expressed his appreciation for the invitation for the TICAD V.
2. Dr. Stiglitz explained that he is currently conducting with JICA a research for many African countries to be able to learn from the experience of growth in Asia. He also remarked the appreciation for the role which Japan had played in the economic growth in Asia as well as his vision for development in Africa. In addition, he stated that he highly appreciates "Abenomics."
3. Prime Minister stated that he agreed with Dr. Stiglitz’s point, as it is important for Africa to share the experience of growth such as in Asia, and that the TICAD has its own characteristics and significance in discussing the development of Africa multilaterally, including developing countries such as Asian countries, European countries, United States, international organizations. Further, Prime Minister Abe welcomed Dr. Stiglitz’s appreciation for JICA’s important efforts to fill in the gap between developing countries and advanced counties, and stated that he will focus his support on Japan’s assistance measures, particularly in the field of agriculture, human resource development, health, education, which promote human security.