Kenya's Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi shaking hands with Japan Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoko Kamikawa after the closing ceremony of the Ticad Ministerial conference in Tokyo, Japan on August 25, 2024. PHOTO | POOL
Japan says it is committed to more ‘sustainable development’ with Africa as it pursues to make itself a relevant and different partner from other world powers seeking a slice of the continent.
Last week, Japan hosted foreign ministers from around the continent for the 9th ministerial meeting under the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (Ticad-9).
The meeting in Tokyo, as is tradition, was held in predation for the Ninth summit to be held in August 2025 in Yokohama. Ticad was began 31 years ago to help built a forum for discussions on African development.
Since then, however, more world powers have come forth with their versions of summits, including China, US, India, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, France, Italy and the UK.
Last week, Japan repeated its call of previous years; that it will not exploit Africa, that it will push for Africa’s representation at the high tables, including at the UN Security Council where it lacks a permanent seat. But it faces a trade deficit in its favour, an issue African leaders have often spoken about.
Some ministers acknowledged Japan’s role in developing Africa but argued global changes mean the two sides must adjust their collaboration.
Priorities
Musalia Mudavadi, Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs said such collaboration should prioritise employment opportunities for the growing youth population, advance agricultural development, foster trade, and drive digital transformation – areas crucial for promoting inclusive and sustainable growth.
“I proposed the integration of funding and technology in agriculture to enhance the sector’s resilience to climate change and stressed the importance of addressing the issues faced by youth and women from a south –south cooperation perspective,” Mr Mudavadi, said after the meeting in Tokyo.
Kenya, one of the most indebted countries, in Africa has been campaigning for a re-evaluation of the global financial architecture, including in lending institutions like the world Bank and the International Monetary Fund, to which Japan is an influential member, and often operates in a group of lenders called the Paris Club. Mudavadi repeated the same call in Japan.
A Joint Communiqué issued after the meeting on Thursday last week said Tokyo seeks strong partnership between with the African Union and its members, which it said will be under three main pillars of Society, Peace and Stability, and Economy. Ministers from countries such as Kenya were here to discuss how to “co-create innovative solutions with Africa.”
“We jointly explored innovative solutions for Africa that reflect, and respond to, current global challenges,” read the joint statement by Japan representative and 42 countries, including Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary and Minister Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi.
“In this context, we took four overarching approaches into consideration, namely connectivity; women, youth and Women, Peace and Security (WPS)public-private partnerships.”
Japan, which has been a vocal critic of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine struggled to get allies in Africa, who chose either neutrality or to side with Russia.
In Tokyo, the communique spoke of building inclusive and responsible global governance that promotes a free, open and fair international order based on the international law.
Japan said it supports a recent decision to strengthen African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) and to support AU-led peace support operations authorised by the UN Security Council based on Resolution 2719 (2023). Japan said it supports the resolution meant for capacity building, and sustainable and predictable financing as appropriate for Africa-led responses to its crises of war and conflict.
“We also recognised the increasing momentum on UN Security Council reform and reiterated that the reform including the expansion of permanent and non- permanent categories of the membership is indispensable for redressing historical injustices against Africa, in full accordance with the Common African Position,” reads the communique.
Dr Monique Nsanzabaganwa, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission said AU supports cooperation with Japan on sustainable development.
“Our aspiration is to forge a more robust partnership with Japan, characterised by enhanced dialogue, streamlined coordination, and increased support for AU initiatives,” she said at the opening ceremony.
“This will empower us to transform our political dialogue into focused and tangible actions, effectively addressing Africa’s needs in alignment with the African Union Agenda 2063 and its Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan.”
