DEVELOPMENT-JAPAN: Tokyo Works for More Attention for Africa

By Suvendrini Kakuchi Reprint | | Print |

Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO, Dec 5 2001 (IPS) - A commitment to the revival of Africa was the result was a just-finished conference here among African and Asian countries and donor nations, hosted by the Japanese government

“Africa is ready,” said Alpha Oumar Konare, visiting president of Mali.”After decades of being poor, we want to go forward,” he said at the conference that ended Tuesday

The Japan-hosted conference brought together top participants from 53 African countries, 11 Asian nations, 23 donor countries and 38 international organisations. Intense discussions were held on topics such as reducing poverty through stimulating economic growth, using information technology for development, and regional cooperation.

The conference also included, for the first time, a session between the Asian business community and African nations, and a sub-section on African regional development and cooperation between civil societies.

Participants also pledged to accept the recently established New Partnership for African Development, (NEPAD) an African initiative put forth by South African President Thabo Mbeki’s plan for the revival of the continent.

NEPAD calls for the principle of “ownership” representing African nations, and “partnership” with the global community.

NEPAD, said Japanese Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, “is welcomed by the international community”.

In a keynote speech on the first day of the conference, Tanaka said Japan is firmly committed to supporting African development despite the slowdown of the Japanese economy and the government’s structural economic reforms in all areas, including official development assistance.

Japan hosted the first two Tokyo International Conferences on African Development (TICAD) meetings jointly with the World Bank, the Global Coalition for Africa, and the U.N. Office of the Special Coordinator for Africa and the Least Developed Countries.

In his address to the conference, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi also promised to host the 3rd TICAD in 2003.

TICAD’s decision to support reforms in Africa under NEPAD was welcomed by African delegates.

“The focus is on allowing African nations to take the lead in paving the way for economic growth in their own countries,” said a delegate from Tunisia, who declined to be named. “The international community was dragging its feet on this issue, but this time in Tokyo, there is general acceptance of what Africa wants.”

He went on to explain how a major goal in the new initiative is getting the donor community to allow African countries to put forward its priorities in development and for them to respond to those needs coming from below.

“The focus up to now was more on humanitarian aid and democratic reforms. But what we want is more aid for sectors like infrastructure and support for policies that strengthen the role of the state, which is what is lacking,” he explained.

Japanese diplomats said this week’s TICAD meeting was aimed at bringing Africa into the global limelight and help it get the attention it deserves from the international community — not least by having Tokyo, the world’s largest aid donor in terms of volume, host a meeting on it.

“Africa was in danger of being abandoned in the post-Cold War era by Europe that was turning to the problems of Eastern Europe. But Japan has worked hard to bring Africa back on the global agenda,” one diplomat said.

The conference also decided to include the development of Africa in the agenda for G-8 countries scheduled to meet in Canada next year.

Konare from Mali, who was the keynote speaker at the conference, acknowledged Africa was still saddled with problems such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic, internal conflicts and growing poverty.

But what is different this time is Africa is now aware of what we must do on our side. “There is a shift from the earlier stance to externalise our problems, to now being able to make a firm commitment from our side to deal with the situation,” he told the press.

The TICAD meeting emphasised areas such as strengthening development through the promotion of peace and good governance, investing in people, focus on human resource development, education and health sectors and reducing poverty.

Jose Ela Ebang, Minister of Foriegn Affairs of Equatorial Guinea who was attending the conference, says Africa too is looking forward to close integration with Asia in the future.

“I am here to learn more about the East Asian miracle,” he said. “I think Japan, as the richest and most powerful country in the region, can play the role of leading this new cooperation between Asia and Africa.”