TICAD Ministerial Meeting Joint Communiqué

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TICAD Ministerial Meeting Joint Communiqué

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August 28, 2024

The 2024 Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD)Ministerial Meeting held from 24-25 August 2024 in Tokyo, Japan. The Meeting was attended by Ministers and the delegation of Japan and African Union Member States ^{^[1]} , together with representatives of TICAD Coorganizers, namely the United Nations (UN), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank and the African Union Commission (AUC), as well as international and regional organizations, the private sector and civil society organizations from Japan and Africa.

In preparing for the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) to be held in August 2025 in Yokohama, Japan, we held discussions on three main pillars: Society, Peace and Stability, and Economy, under the main theme of TICAD 9: “Co-create innovative solutions with Africa”. We jointly explored innovative solutions for Africa that reflect, and respond to, current global challenges. In this context, we took four overarching approaches into consideration, namely (i) connectivity; (ii) women, youth and Women, Peace and Security (WPS); (iii) public-private partnerships; and (iv) building inclusive and responsible global governance that promotes a free, open and fair international order based on the international law. We also exchanged views to develop priority areas in TICAD 9.

We took note of the progress that Japan has made following the Eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8) held in 2022, in Tunis, Tunisia, in line with the recommendations mentioned in the TICAD 8 Tunis Declaration. The Co-organizers committed to meet and discuss how to operationalize the TICAD monitoring and evaluation mechanism.

We reiterated the importance that our partners align their relevant international cooperation efforts with the African Union vision as stated in AU Agenda 2063, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, African countries national and regional development plans, and to support homegrown development aspirations and initiatives in Africa.

We recognized the unique opportunity of the Ministerial Meeting and ongoing TICAD process for sharing priorities and developing innovative ideas that can contribute to preparations for TICAD9 and other important international events such as the Summit of the Future, the fourth UN Conference on Financing for Development, and G20 Leaders’ Summit 2025.

Under the theme of “Realizing a Sustainable Future”, we discussed how to collaborate in developing innovative solutions for addressing challenges impeding development including climate change, health, education, agriculture, food security, nutrition, energy, and water.

We recognized the efforts made by Africa through innovative domestic resource mobilization for financing climate actions in Africa such as the Africa Adaptation Initiative (AAI), the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI), the Initiative for Adaptation of African Agriculture (AAA), and the Commissions on the Sahel, Congo Basin, and Small Island States. We also stressed the importance of global action to tackle climate change and its impacts on Africa. In this regard, we appreciated Japan’s support to African countries, for just transition to climate-resilient and net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions development.

We highlighted the importance of mutual exchanges between African and Japanese youth to promote creativity and sustainable socio-economic change. We recognized the importance of affording more opportunities for African youth to develop their potential and to partner more directly with Japanese youth with a view to co-creating transformative solutions.

To address social development challenges, we expressed the importance of promoting prevention of diseases, strengthening health systems including local manufacturing and value chains of medicines and vaccines to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) and advance primary health care (PHC), which was echoed in the two separate thematic events of the Ministerial Meeting. We also underscored the significance of improving access to quality education, promoting the availability of decent work, enhancing land, water and environmental management, access to electricity, promotion and sharing of cleaner energy technologies, increasing resilience to climate change and natural disasters, boosting sustainable production and productivity of agriculture and aquaculture, and achieving food security infrastructure development, among others.

Recognizing the importance of establishing an enabling environment to drive the digital transformation of Africa, we stressed the need for an effective and responsible utilization of digital technology including artificial intelligence as well as capacity building. We welcomed the fact that many participants expressed their intention to make use of good practices of innovative solutions that were shared during the Ministerial Meeting in the framework of programs and projects in connection with TICAD process. We underscored the need to increase collaborations with the private sector for catalyzing innovative solutions including the use of digital technology.

To address the connectivity challenges, we recognized the need to develop regional hubs for capacity building, to improve transport infrastructures and services and to add value in implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as key enabler for socio-economic development. We also recognized the importance of attracting investment from private sector and sharing innovative solutions, knowledge and technology within Africa. We also noted the importance of sustainable, safe and smart cities with adequate urban mobility solutions.

Under the theme of “Ensuring Human Dignity and Human Security”, we underlined the important role of WPS and the perspective of women and youth, which are increasingly dominant in ensuring human dignity and human security. We reiterated the importance of promoting the protection, empowerment and participation of women through improvement of livelihood, and enhancement of their participation and leadership in decision-making and peace processes.

We reaffirmed that it is important to prioritize prevention, while also working to ensure lasting solutions to conflicts, crises, violent extremism, terrorism, maritime security threats including maritime piracy, human and drug trafficking, cybersecurity, illicit trade in small arms and illicit financial flows by tackling the root causes of persistent and recurring unrest. We also shared the view that it is essential to adopt a holistic and cross-sectoral approach by fostering closer collaboration and promoting humanitarian, peace, security, and development nexus.

We reaffirmed the importance of enhancing governance by strengthening the capacities of public institutions including e-governance to deliver services to their citizens, joining efforts to further promote the rule of law both at the national and international levels, and respecting and promoting compliance with international law, including international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

We noted the need to strengthen African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) and to support AU-led peace support operations authorized by the UN Security Council based on Resolution 2719 (2023), through capacity building, and sustainable and predictable financing as appropriate. We also recognized the increasing momentum on UN Security Council reform and reiterated that the reform including the expansion of permanent and nonpermanent categories of the membership is indispensable for redressing historical injustices against Africa, in full accordance with the Common African Position.

Under the theme of “Promoting Trade and Investment”, we underscored the need for creating an open, reliable, and resilient start-up eco-system that can sustainably attract and manage domestic and external resources. We committed to making efforts to forge strategic partnership with the private sector in order to improve Africa’s business environment for inclusive economic growth and sustainable development. We noted with satisfaction that the Ministerial Meeting provided an ideal occasion for fruitful exchange and interaction among public sectors and start-ups. This would create new business opportunities and pave the way for enduring cross-cultural and business partnerships. In this context, we stressed the importance of fostering an entrepreneurial culture where the youth and women play an essential role.

Recognizing the significance of digital transformation to drive entrepreneurship in Africa, we emphasized that the role of the AfCFTA is crucial for enhancing Africa’s productive transformation and competitiveness, and achieving inclusive and sustainable development.

We shared the view to striving to further boost trade and increase investments between Japan and Africa, in several sectors, both traditional and high end. We also expressed mutual commitment to promote the role of private sector in harnessing the business opportunities in both Africa and Japan.

We recognized the importance to cooperate on the reform of tax systems with a view to mobilize domestic and external financial resources. We recognized the urgency of mobilizing resources for investment in acceleration of AU Agenda 2063 and the Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development Goals, including through the re-channeling of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to the African Development Bank, facilitating Africa’s access to sustainable, affordable and equitable financing, and addressing recurrent external debt crisis. We underlined the need for enhanced cooperation to better address the risk perception of investing in Africa, by engaging with Credit Rating Agencies to address obstacles to investing in Africa’s sustainable development.

We noted the adoption of the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) by the UN General Assembly Resolution 78/322 of 13 of August 2024. We encourage the use of MVI as a complementary tool for assessing Africa’s legibility for development cooperation and financial support.

We welcomed many innovative ideas presented during the Ministerial Meeting and shared the view that such innovative solutions should be further explored and replicated in the African continent and Japan. Drawing on and further developing the outcomes of the Ministerial Meeting, we expressed our joint willingness to continue close cooperation towards a successful TICAD 9.