Countries & Regions

1. Overview

(1) Plenary Session

(a) The Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) was held in Yokohama on June 1-3. Under the basic concept of "Hand in Hand with a More Dynamic Africa," active discussions took place on the direction of African development in line with the core themes of TICAD V, namely "Robust and Sustainable Economy," "Inclusive and Resilient Society" and "Peace and Stability." Reflecting the importance of growth led by the private sector, a "Dialogue with the Private Sector" session for direct engagement between African leaders and representatives of Japanese private-sector was held for the first time at a TICAD plenary session.

(b) TICAD V turned out to be the largest international conference ever hosted by Japan, surpassing the scale of the previous conference. The latest event brought together a total of at least 4,500 participants (List of Chief Representatives of Participating Countries and International Organizations (PDF)). Among them were representatives of 51 African countries, 31 development partner countries and Asian countries, including 39 heads of State and Government; representatives of 72 international and regional organizations; representatives of private-sector and civil society such as nongovernmental organizations. In addition, the heads of all co-organizers were present at TICAD V: H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations; H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC); H.E. Dr. Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank; and H.E. Miss. Helen Clark, the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

(c) TICAD V was co-chaired by Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, and Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Chairperson of the African Union (AU). In keynote speeches at the Opening Session and Plenary 1, Prime Minister Abe announced the basic policy of Japan on assistance to Africa, along with an assistance package (Appendix 2: An outline of Japan's assistance package for Africa (PDF)), comprising up to approximately 3.2 trillion yen in public-private initiatives, including approximately 1.4 trillion yen in official development assistance; capacity building for business and industry, including through "African Business Education Initiative for the Youth" or "ABE Initiative" ; and development and humanitarian assistance to the Sahel region. Mr. Yoshiro Mori, former Prime Minister of Japan, who was the first Prime Minister of Japan to visit Africa, served as acting co-chair of plenary sessions.

(d) TICAD V issued two outcome documents?"Yokohama Declaration 2013", which presents a future direction for African development, and "Yokohama Action Plan 2013-2017", a road map of specific measures that will be taken under the TICAD Process over the coming five years based on Yokohama Declaration 2013.

(2) Bilateral Meetings

(a) Prime Minister Abe held bilateral meetings with 56 participants--all of the 39 heads of state level, the Chairperson of the AUC, two Prime Minister's guests and the representatives of 14 international organizations--and hosted a dinner for African leaders.

(b) Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held meetings with 32 participants, including bilateral meetings with 22 of them. These included heads of state level participants, Ministers of African countries and representatives of international organizations. He also hosted a luncheon for representatives of international organizations. In addition, former Prime Minister Mori (acting co-chair of plenary sessions), Masaji Matsuyama, Parliamentary Senior Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Toshiko Abe, Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs held meetings with participants respectively.

(c) These meetings covered a wide range of issues, such as African development, the regional situation and cooperation in international forums, allowing for high-level exchanges of an unprecedented scale in a short period of time.

(3) Other Meetings and Events

(a) On May 31, the TICAD V Ministerial Pre-Conference Meeting was co-chaired by Minister Kishida and Dr. Tedros Adhanom, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, for discussions on the outcome documents of TICAD V at a ministerial level in preparation for TICAD V that was set to start the following day.

(b) The Special Conference on Somalia was also held on May 31 to discuss the direction of nation-building in Somalia. Prime Minister Abe announced that Japan would restart direct assistance to Somalia.

(c) On June 1, the Second Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize was awarded to Dr. Peter Piot and Dr. Alex Godwin Coutinho at a ceremony, followed by a commemorative banquet in the presence of Their Majesties the Emperor and the Empress of Japan.

(d) An international symposium on HIV/AIDS and other programs designed for the spouses of African leaders also took place on June 1, providing the spouse of the Prime Minister of Japan and the spouses of African leaders with opportunities to deepen their friendships.

(e) At the Symposium on Human Security, held on June 2, Prime Minister Abe explained Japan's contribution to the Millennium Development Goals and human security to the international community. On June 3, the "Japan-Africa Summit Meeting on United Nations Security Council Reform" was held to further strengthen cooperation between Japan and African countries for reforms of the United Nations Security Council.

(f) Many other official side events took place on the sidelines of TICAD V.

2. Evaluation

(1) Many delegates of African countries expressed appreciation for the 20 years of the TICAD Process for African development. The concept of TICAD V which aims to further promote the economic growth of Africa and to distribute the benefits of growth to all levels of society, under the theme of "Hand in Hand with a More Dynamic Africa," received a high evaluation as appropriately reflecting the substantial changes in Africa in recent years. In his remarks at the conference, Prime Minister Abe underscored the importance of Africa's self-help, and self-reliance, as well as growth, and expressed his wish to visit Africa at an early date.

(2) The inclusion of the AUC as a TICAD co-organizer has further strengthened African ownership, one of the basic principles of TICAD. More discussions were held on the African Union's (AU) continental development initiatives, contributing to greater consistency between development policy for the whole Africa and the TICAD Process. The Yokohama Action Plan 2013-2017 is an attempt to put into practice the principle of African ownership as it includes not only the initiatives of the co-organizers and development partner countries but also those of Africa itself.

(3) TICAD V brought together representatives of 51 countries, including 39 heads of state level, a clear testimony to the high expectations that African countries place on the TICAD Process. In addition, the plenary sessions were attended by the representatives of European and Asian countries and many international organizations, indicating the international community's strong interest in the conference.

(4) Many participants expressed that Japan's assistance addressed the current needs of Africa and commended Japan's assistance for infrastructure development and improving the business environment, such as through the training of human resources, as well as its support in the areas of health, education and agriculture to contribute to promoting human security.

(5) Prime Minister Abe's meetings with all of the participating 39 heads of state and governments, the Chairperson of the AUC and two Prime Minister's guests made a great contribution to the success of TICAD V and served to strengthen relations between Japan and African countries. Participants from the African side uniformly commended and expressed gratitude for Japan's assistance package through bilateral meetings of Prime Minister Abe, Minister Kishida and other senior Japanese officials, as well as exchange events involving business leaders and diplomacy by lawmakers. This affirmed policy and eagerness on the African side to strengthen relations with Japan.

(6) Through a total of 46 official side events, a variety of seminars and symposiums, and receptions, exchanges between high-level delegations from Africa and people in Japan were promoted. Japanese people gained a better understanding of and developed higher interest in Africa. Moreover, these events highlighted the significant roles NGOs and civil society can play in facilitating cooperation between Japan and Africa.