VOL.197 OCTOBER 2024
JAPAN’S HEALING FORESTS (PART 2)
Autumn Forests with Colorful Leaves [POLICY RELATED NEWS I] Report on the 2024 Ministerial Meeting of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD)

Opening session of the Ministerial Meeting.
Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

“Co-creating Innovative Solutions with Africa” was the theme of the 2024 Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) Ministerial Meeting, which was held in Tokyo in August 2024 in advance of the TICAD 9. TICAD is a summit-level international conference to discuss African development, under the concepts of African ownership and partnership with the international community. TICAD 9 is scheduled to take place in Yokohama City in August 2025. This article provides an overview of the 2024 TICAD Ministerial Meeting.

A two-day Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) Ministerial Meeting was held in Tokyo from August 24 to 25, 2024. Japan has taken a leading role in TICAD since its first meeting in 1993, which contributed to regaining interest in Africa from the international community following the end of the Cold War. In the years since, TICAD has held discussions on a range of topics aligned with Africa's developmental needs and international trends. The most recent TICAD Ministerial Meeting, in addition to plenary sessions, incorporated bilateral meetings between Japan and African countries, a working lunch with female Ministers, and thematic events on innovation, civil society, and health.

Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, then-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan and the chair of the opening session, remarked, “We will be holding discussions with a vision of a future Africa that develops into a global growth center of aspiring individuals. I hope the achievements of this meeting will be carried over not only to next year’s TICAD 9, but also to the UN Summit of the Future and next year’s G20 Summit to be chaired by South Africa.” Announcing the slogan of “Co-creating Innovative Solutions with Africa” for the meeting, she anticipated lively discussions for the future of Africa.

The plenary meeting was separated into three sessions. Session 1 discussed the theme of “Society: Realizing a Sustainable Future,” with the aim of advancing people-to-people, intellectual, and cultural exchanges to promote Japanese and African youth-led co-creation of solutions to various issues. The theme of Session 2 was “Peace and Stability: Ensuring Human Dignity and Human Security” where the launch of the Women’s Peace Human Resource Development Initiative in the Horn of Africa* was announced, which is the program to promote peace and stability in Africa based in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development**. Session 3, with the theme of “Economy: Promoting Trade and Investment,” focused on start-ups*** in Japan and Africa. Panel discussions and the networking session were attended by about 400 representatives from the public and private sectors, including 70 business corporations. Bringing African Ministers and Japanese and African business representatives together, the session provided opportunities for matchmaking and expanding new business networks. At the Ministerial Meeting, thematic events were held by various stakeholders including international organizations, civil society organizations, and students. Dialogues with lively exchanges of opinions took place on topics such as health systems, the future envisioned by youths, and collaboration to achieve the SDGs.

As an outcome of the meeting, the TICAD Ministerial Meeting Joint Communiqué, was adopted. It declared closer cooperation between Japan and Africa towards the TICAD 9 to be held in August 2025. For more details on the recent Ministerial Meeting, you could refer to the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. (TICAD Ministerial Meeting (2024) | Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (mofa.go.jp))

---

* The Horn of Africa refers to the region on the northeastern part of the African continent that protrudes in the shape of a horn toward the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. It encompasses the countries of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, and Kenya.
** The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, abbreviated as IGAD, formerly known as Inter-Governmental Authority on Drought and Development, which was founded in 1986 to promote drought countermeasures and economic development in the East Africa region. Its activities primarily focus on four fields: agriculture and the environment, economic cooperation and regional integration, health and social development, and peace and security.
*** Newly established companies that aim to achieve rapid growth with the new technologies and their business models (innovation).