The President's Activities

From left, NEPAD CEO Ibrahim Assane Mayaki and JICA President Shinichi Kitaoka

JICA President Shinichi Kitaoka held talks with Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, CEO of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) Planning and Coordinating Agency, on June 6 at JICA headquarters in Tokyo.

Mr. Kitaoka began the talks by praising NEPAD as an effective initiative that originated in Africa. Additionally, he mentioned that he expects the relationship between NEPAD and JICA to deepen and expand in the future.

The discussion was not limited to the partnership between NEPAD and JICA on the Initiative for Food and Nutrition Security in Africa (IFNA)*1 and the KAIZEN initiative, which were announced at the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI). They also discussed possibilities for Africa-Japan cooperation that involve other organizations such as the African Union and the Sustainable Development Goals Center for Africa*2.

After the meeting between Mr. Mayaki and Mr. Kitaoka, a NEPAD-JICA partnership review consultation on its future direction was held. NEPAD and JICA agreed on a Memorandum of Cooperation that reflects the results of a series of discussions, and JICA Executive Senior Vice President Kazuhiko Koshikawa and Mr. Mayaki reaffirmed the significance of the collaboration by signing the memorandum.

In addition to NEPAD-JICA’s existing partnership in areas such as regional infrastructure and agriculture, JICA will further strengthen its cooperation by expanding activities on nutrition and KAIZEN as we approach TICAD7.

• (*1) Launching of the Initiative for Food and Nutrition Security in Africa: IFNA -TICAD VI: The Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development Official Side Event -
• (*2) THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS CENTER FOR AFRICA