TICAD IV: Toward a Vibrant Africa
Asia – Africa relations have once again been put under the spotlight with the successful meeting of the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on Africa Development (TICAD IV). The conference, co-organised by the Government of Japan, the United Nations Office of the Special Advisor on Africa, the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank, was attended by over 40 African Heads of State and Government. Themed: “Toward a Vibrant Africa: A Continent of Hope and Opportunity”, the conference once again shed light on Africa’s growing importance as a supplier of raw materials, resources and markets and as a needy recipient of aid and assistance.
African and world leaders in attendance espoused the growing links between Africa and Asia and called on the Japanese government to do more to ensure greater Japanese trade and investment throughout Africa. To date, Japanese investment in Africa remains small with only US$ 415 million invested on the continent between 2002 and 2004, 0.4% of Japan’s total FDI flows. Trade exports to Japan from Africa amounted to only 2% of Japan’s total imports in 2003 – 2004. Japan’s involvement on the continent has been largely through small humanitarian donations and piecemeal investment activities, far out shadowed by China and India’s engagement on the continent. Although Japan’s engagement has not been typically noteworthy over the past decade, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has stressed the growing role of Japan through TICAD IV in assisting Africa by boosting economic growth, enhancing human security and addressing environmental and climate change impacts on the continent.
TICAD was initiated by Japan in 1993 as a policy forum for African Development with the primary objective of promoting high-level policy dialogue between African leaders and their partners and to mobilise support for African-owned development initiatives. At the conclusion of the conference, TICAD IV was scheduled to adopt the "Yokohama Declaration", outlining guiding principles and approaches to African development among TICAD stakeholders, as well as the "Yokohama Action Plan and the Yokohama Follow-up Mechanism", laying out a plan for action-oriented initiatives.
At the opening of the conference, Prime Minster Fukuda pledged US$ 4 billion in soft loans to Africa over the next five years, effectively doubling Japan’s development assistance to the continent. The fund will be used for infrastructure development with a focus on improving Africa’s road networks, rails and ports. Japan has also created an investment facility within the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to finance investments by Japanese companies in Africa. It was further announced that Japan is planning to increase Africa’s rice production of 14 million tonnes by 100% within the next 10 years through the development of irrigation systems, improved crop varieties, technological advancement and skills transfer. Japan is also planning to double private sector investments to US$ 2.5 billion over the next five years so as to facilitate greater interest by Japanese companies towards investing in Africa as well as building 1,000 schools and training 100,000 teachers.
The real winners coming out of TICAD IV were the African states that negotiated bilateral arrangements with the Japanese government on the sidelines of the conference. Highlighting this, Japan pledged to grant US$ 1 billion to boost power generation and electrical capacity in Freetown, Sierra Leone. In addition Japan has pledged to provide a US$ 250 million concessional loan for the modernisation of the Mombasa Port Container Terminal as well as funding for food assistance and post-election challenges. Japan has also agreed to assist Uganda with developing its energy sector as well as with the construction of a new bridge over the River Nile in Jinja, serving as a critical link between Uganda and Kenya.
Asia – Africa sceptics abound, touting the negative influence of Asian states on the African continent, particularly with respect to China’s growing engagement. The role of Japan, however, has historically been one of benevolent donor state towards Africa. Japan’s economic engagement with the continent has been paltry at best with firms reluctant to absorb the actual and perceived risk of investing in Africa. Through the auspices of the TICAD IV, the Japanese have a vehicle to begin exploring the fruits of Africa, whilst the government continues to provide much needed assistance and aid to Africa’s governments and peoples. The role of Japan within Africa has yet to be fully defined, hopefully the Japanese will use of the success of TICAD IV to further strengthen relationships from an economic, political and social angle with the African continent.
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