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JICA Seminar in Paris "Report on TICAD 7: Future of Franco-Japanese Cooperation for Africa"

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November 22, 2019

JICA Seminar in Paris "Report on TICAD 7: Future of Franco-Japanese Cooperation for Africa"

Overview

Name of Meeting: Report on TICAD7: Future of Franco-Japanese Cooperation for Africa
Date: November 22, 2019
Sponsors: JICA France Office
Location: Paris, France

Moderators and panelists

Presenter: Mr. Ryuichi Kato, Director General, JICA Africa Department; Mr. Asahiko Karashima, Chief Representative of JICA Morocco Office; Mr. Masakatsu Komori, Chief Representative of JICA Senegal office; Mr. Kojiro Fujino, Chief Representative of JICA Cote d'Ivoire Office
Participants: Japanese and French companies based in Paris

Primary objectives and outcomes

The Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) saw the adoption of "Yokohama Declaration 2019" and "Yokohama Action Plan 2019" to scale up private investment in Africa. Prior to TICAD7, on 26 June, the heads of state of France and Japan announced "the Roadmap on Japan-France Cooperation for Opening New Horizons between Japan and France under an Exceptional Partnership (2019-2023)". JICA and French Development Agency (AFD) also signed new Memorandum of Understanding to further strenthen their partnership. In light of these progress, JICA organized a second seminar in Paris this year to share the outcomes of TICAD7 and JICA's strategies for cooperation in Africa with French and Japanese companies.

Contents of the discussions

Mr. Ryuichi Kato, Director General of JICA Africa Department, presented the key actions for improving the African business environment to achieve 20 billion dollars of Japanese private investment, including: development of industrial human resources, promotion of innovation and investment, investment in quality infrastructure to enhance connectivity, debt sustainability, diversification of industries, supporting Japanese investments to Africa through "Japan Business Council for Africa (JBCA)".

Mr. Kato also laid out key actions to achieve human security and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa, such as: promotion of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Africa Health and Wellbeing Initiative, building disaster-resilient society, provision of quality education, sustainable urban development, and sharing the value of sports towards the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.

Taking into account the strategies above, Mr. Asahiko Karashima, Mr. Masakatsu Komori and Mr. Kojiro Fujino, Chief Representatives of JICA offices in Morocco, Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire respectively, presented JICA's activities, potentials and challenges in each country.

Around 50 French and Japanese companies and institutions joined the seminar, and held exchanges including possible Franco-Japanese cooperation with Africa for specific sectors such as health and agribusiness. Many voiced that such seminar was a useful opportunity for networking among French and Japanese companies interested in investing in Africa.