The President's Activities

JICA President Shinichi Kitaoka, far left, and Stergomena Lawrence Tax, executive secretary of the Southern African Development Community, far right

JICA President Shinichi Kitaoka held talks with Stergomena Lawrence Tax, executive secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), at JICA headquarters in Tokyo on Nov. 24.

Mr. Kitaoka began by saying the southern Africa is an important region for Japan, especially with regard to trade and investment, and with TICAD VI planned to be held for the first time in Africa next summer, 2016 will truly be a year of African diplomacy.

In response, Ms. Tax said industrialization is the top-priority issue for SADC and she would like to learn more from Japan's experiences. She said Japan is not a competitor but a partner, and she is hopeful about Japanese contributions to industrialization through investment and technical cooperation.

Mr. Kitaoka responded that the SADC is a good partner of Japan and capacity building in the African region is important. Ms. Tax said SADC would like to continue its regular dialogue with Japan.