Countries & Regions

On June 3, for 15 minutes from 3:35pm, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had a meeting with Dr. Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), in Yokohama Japan. The following is the gist of the meeting. Dr. Donald Kaberuka is visiting Japan to participate in the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) held from June 1 to June3.

1. At the beginning of the meeting, Prime Minister Abe said that he is fortunate to work with Dr. Kaberuka to contribute to the development in Africa through the TICAD process, and appreciated AfDB’s policy to place importance on its partnership with Japan. In response, Dr. Kaberuka expressed that he appreciates Prime Minister Abe for demonstrating an excellent skill in handling with economic policies, and congratulated on the success of the TICAD V.
2. Dr. Kaberuka went on to say that AfDB will be ready to do everything AfDB can assist to attain the commitments of the TICAD V, including infrastructure improvement and human resource development. Also, stating that the economies in the Sub-Sahara Africa achieved 6.6% growth last year and the prospect of this year will be brighter, Dr. Kaberuka commended Prime Minister Abe for having focused on investment and business. Dr. Kaberuka expressed his appreciation for the cooperation to date with Japan through EPSA (Enhanced Private Sector Assistance for Africa).
3. Prime Minister Abe thanked for Dr. Kaberuka’s words of appreciation for the economic policy and TICAD V. Referring to the fact that Japan has provided financial assistance through EPSA with AfDB to support the private sector since eight years ago, Prime Minister Abe welcomed that TICAD V provides a right opportunity to enlarge the EPSA and further strengthen it. Besides, Prime Minister Abe said that Japan decided to provide financial support for the private sector in Africa, and this cooperation is expected to lead to further development of the private sector in Africa.
4. In addition, they exchanged opinions concerning the next replenishment of the African Development Fund.