TANAKA Akihiko

Ibrahim Assane Mayaki (left), chief executive officer of NEPAD; David Monyae, senior policy analyst at the DBSA; Akihiko Tanaka, president of JICA; and Yutaka Yoshizawa, ambassador of Japan to the Republic of South Africa wait to make their presentations.

On May 7, JICA President Akihiko Tanaka arrived in the Republic of South Africa. Tanaka attended the World Economic Forum (WEF) (1) on Africa held in South Africa on May 8 and 9. Using this occasion, he also made appeals to the general public and local development experts for Japanese/JICA cooperation in Africa in two consecutive seminars aimed at publicizing TICAD V, which will be held in a week.

Held on May 8 in Cape Town and co-organized by JICA, the Embassy of Japan in South Africa and Stellenbosch University , the seminar was attended by approximately 50 people from nearby educational and research institutions, as well as government officials.

On May 10, Tanaka traveled to Pretoria, the administrative capital of the country. There, he also held the seminar co-organized by the Embassy of Japan in South Africa, the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) and the University of Pretoria. Some 200 people from the national government, business, the diplomatic corps and local Japanese companies attended the seminar. In addition to the talk by Tanaka, presentations on African cooperation strategies implemented by various institutions and the efforts being made for TICAD V were made by Yutaka Yoshizawa, ambassador of Japan to the Republic of South Africa, Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, chief executive officer of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) (2), and David Monyae, senior policy analyst at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).

Cooperation to Invigorate Africa and Japan

Tanaka gives a presentation at the seminar in Cape Town.

Tanaka gave the keynote addresses, titled “Changing Africa, Challenges for Japan,” at the events in Cape Town and Pretoria. He said, “The center of the world’s economic growth today is undergoing expansion from the Pacific rim to the Indian Ocean rim, which includes South Asia and the African Continent, and the African economy will grow in importance for the world and Japan in the future.” Listing fundamental principles for further development such as inclusive development, sustainable growth, good governance, peace-building and public-private partnerships, he introduced initiatives that JICA is carrying out in relation to those principles in countries and regions in Africa.

Tanaka discussed the basic policy of TICAD, in which development institutions providing cooperation in Africa make the most of their distinctive features and form partnerships with the international community while respecting the ownership of national governments. He also touched on the need for the Government of Japan and Japanese companies to deepen their partnerships for international cooperation in Africa, emphasizing the importance to invigorate Africa and Japan together.

After the seminar, Tanaka gave interviews to members of the South African press and made an appearance on television, making an appeal for the JICA initiatives for TICAD V and the economic relationship between Japan and South Africa in recent years.

Notes

• 1: The World Economic Forum (WEF)
• 2: The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)

Tanaka's speaches

• Cape Town – May 8
• Pretoria – May 10
• Summit Television – DStv channel 412

Presentation materials

• Opening remarks by Yutaka Yoshizawa, ambassador of Japan to South Africa
• Presentation by Yutaka Yoshizawa
• Presentation by Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, chief executive officer of NEPAD
• Presentation by David Monyae, senior policy analyst at the DBSA