Forthcoming talks hinge on boosting Africa's development pace

Deputy Ambassador of Japan to Kenya Miko Mori converses with Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter when he paid him a courtesy call at his office on January 20, 2016. Kenya will host the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development starting August 27. PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The summit serves as an international platform to raise global awareness and ensure continued support of Africa’s development efforts.
  • Ticad VI builds on the progress of the 2013 Yokohama meeting held in Japan that brought together many dignitaries including 39 African heads of state and government.

The approaching sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (Ticad VI) will help strengthen Africa-Japan ties, Japanese embassy Deputy Chief of Mission in Kenya Mikio Mori has said.

The conference, the first on African soil, will be held in Nairobi beginning August 27th to 28th.

Speaking at St Lucy's High School for the visually impaired during the official opening of a Sh7 million dormitory on Friday in Meru, Mr Mori said Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be among the dignitaries attending the summit.

“It holds historic significance from the viewpoints of strengthening ties between Japan and Africa. We sincerely look forward to having Japanese and African leaders on the soil of this beautiful country. I hope the move will help all African nations improve their development strategies,” he said.

The event is expected to attract more than 6,000 participants from Africa and Japan, and various international organisations.

The two-storey dormitory construction was funded by the Japanese government and will house 140 male students.

“I hope that the successfully implementation of this education project will improve the academic performance of these innocent kids and help them achieve their dreams in life despite their disabilities,” he added.

Mr Mori said the initiative was the second collaboration between Japan and the institution after funding the construction of a dormitory for the primary school section.

Ticad VI is co-organised by the Kenyan and Japanese governments, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, the Africa Union Commission (AUC) and the UN Office of the Special Advisor on Africa (UNOSAA).

The summit serves as an international platform to raise global awareness and ensure continued support of Africa’s development efforts.

The participants are expected to discuss implementation of the recently-adopted Sustainable Development Goals and Africa’s Agenda 2063 that is focused on a peaceful, integrated and prosperous continent; economic growth, trade and investment; human security, peace and stability.

Ticad VI builds on the progress of the 2013 Yokohama meeting held in Japan that brought together many dignitaries including 39 African heads of state and government.

Discussions were pivoted on building sustainable economies and resilient societies, peace and security, and private sector engagement.

Japan also pledged USD 32 billion over five years for, among other areas - infrastructure, human resources development, health, and agriculture.

The Ticad conference was launched in 1993 as a joint initiative of the Government of Japan, the United Nations and the former Global Coalition for Africa - now Coalition for Dialogue on Africa (Coda) - with the objective of promoting high-level political dialogue between Africa and its development partners and mobilising support for Africa-owned development initiatives.

Additional reporting by UNDP; editing by Philip Momanyi