(Press Releases) TCTP Driving Economic Growth in Africa: Malaysia Shares Its Trade Promotion Expertise

JICA Malaysia Office, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia and the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), will host a Third-Country Training Program (*) titled “Trade for African Countries” from 12 to 19 October 2026. The training aims to share Malaysia's experiences, policies, and best practices in trade promotion with the participating African countries.

Trade promotion is vital to economic growth, industrial development, and regional integration across Africa. Despite significant progress in recent years, structural and institutional constraints, including limited market information and trade data capacity, underdeveloped regional value chains, inadequate logistics and trade facilitation infrastructure, limited access to trade finance, and challenges in meeting international standards, continue to hinder regional and global trade. Strengthening these areas will be critical to enhancing Africa’s export competitiveness and realizing its full potential.

In response to these challenges, the Third Country Training Program (TCTP) (*) “Trade Promotion for African Countries” will be conducted by MATRADE(*), the principal agency responsible for the promoting and coordinating trading for Malaysian enterprises under the umbrella of the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI). For the 2026 programme, MATRADE will host ten (10) government officials from African countries to provide training on practical knowledge and insights on effective trade promotion strategies, trade facilitation, industrial development, and private sector engagement. The training programme will further benefit from a presentation by a Japanese trade promotion expert from the Office of Private Sector Development Group, JICA Headquarters, who will share Japan’s perspective and experience in trade promotion on 16 October 2026.

(*) Third-Country Training Program (TCTP); is a type of technical cooperation in which JICA provides financial and technical support to training programs in which one developing country hosts trainees from other developing countries. The main objective of TCTP is to share the experiences and expertise of both Japan and Malaysia in specific fields and to strengthen the trainees’ ability to address various challenges in their home countries. In this region, the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been implementing the Malaysia Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP) since 1980, and since 1992, the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and JICA have been jointly coordinating TCTPs to promote knowledge sharing and South-South cooperation among developing countries.

(*) Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) is a national trade promotion agency under the purview of the Ministry of lnvestment, Trade and lndustry (MlTl), responsible for positioning Malaysia as a globally competitive trading nation. MATRADE was established to promote Malaysian enterprises to the international market.

1. Programme Outline

Program Title:
Trade Promotion for African Countries

Training Organizer:
Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE)

Training Period:
12~19 October 2026

Venue:
Menara MATRADE, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Invited Countries:
8 Countries - Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania.

Training Content:

This training program is organized by MATRADE, the training provider to share experiences and best practices of Malaysia and Japan regarding trade promotion. Through interactive learning and practical sessions, participants will gain valuable knowledge, networking, and skills that can be adapted and applied within their respective trade promotion agencies. The 7-day physical course includes:

1. Introduction to trade promotion in Malaysia
   
2. Trade policies and strategies of Malaysia
   
3. Site visit to selected local companies
   
4. Sharing session by JICA’s expert on trade promotion from Japanese perspective on Japan’s experience (by Mr. Homma Toru, Senior Advisor from Private Sector Development, Economic Development Department, JICA HQ, Japan).

2. Related Events:

2-1 Opening Ceremony
Date: 13 October 2026
Venue: Ruang Acara Ujana Ilmu, Level G,
Menara MATRADE, Kuala Lumpur

2-2 Trade Promotion Presentations and Networking
Date: 15 October 2026
Venue: MATRADE Hall, Level 3,
Manara MATRADE, Kuala Lumpur

2-3 Closing Ceremony
Date: 19 October 2026
Venue: Ruang Acara Ujana Ilmu, Level G,
Menara MATRADE, Kuala Lumpur

3. Contact Information:

For further information, please contact:

JICA Malaysia Office
Mr. Tan Siew Chan
Tel：+60-3-2166-8900
E-mail: TanSiewChan.MS▲jica.go.jp


Ms. Aiman Siddiqi
Tel：+60-3-2166-8900
E-mail: AimanSiddiqi.MS▲jica.go.jp
(Note: Please convert ▲to @)