TICAD7: outcome documents

1. pdf Yokohama Declaration 2019 (524 KB) : Advancing Africa’s Development through People, Technology and Innovation

   We underscore the importance of private sector development, digital transformation, and youth and women entrepreneurship as strategies for implementing the priority areas of TICAD 7. In this context, we welcome the active participation of private companies from both Japan and Africa in TICAD 7. We consider the continued involvement of the private sector to be an essential element of the TICAD process going forward, and commit to strengthening the enabling environment for doing business and further encouraging impact investment that creates wealth.

   We welcome the AfCFTA and the prospects it offers for deepening regional integration and enlarging markets, promoting trade facilitation, transforming agriculture and developing value chains. We commit to supporting the full implementation of the AfCFTA through measures that concretely link the African private sector with its counterparts in Japan, in order to achieve these objectives.

   We recognize the role of the private sector in Africa’s development, and the linkages between the private sector, connectivity, technology and innovation. We welcome the Japan Business Council for Africa established by the Government of Japan and the private sector to encourage and facilitate business interaction between Japan and African Union Member States, including through private sector from other countries. We encourage initiatives such as the G20 Compact with Africa. We appreciate the business training provided through the African Business Education Initiative for Youth (ABE Initiative), and commit to strengthening job training as well as micro, small and medium sized enterprises on the continent, recognizing they are the primary vehicle for job creation and entrepreneurship, including of youth and women. We welcome efforts to support women entrepreneurship through financial and technical assistance. We also welcome efforts by the international community to de-risk private investment, particularly for infrastructure and productive sectors. We commit to working together to promote a conducive business environment, accelerate inclusive industrialization, enhance domestic resource mobilization, and strengthen public finance and macroeconomic stability. We further commit to strengthening capacities in the field of trade negotiation and responsible and sustainable business practices, including the development of an AU corporate social responsibility strategy, and to support impact investments to widen business opportunities and decent jobs including for youth and women in line with the aspirations and goals of the AU Agenda 2063 and Agenda 2030.

2. pdf Yokohama Plan of Actions 2019 (218 KB) : Actions for implementation of the Yokohama Declaration 2019

   The Yokohama Plan of Actions 2019 which accompanies the Declaration, lists actions expected to be implemented by the TICAD partners in order to promote focus areas of the three main pillars of the Yokohama Declaration 2019 adopted at TICAD 7. The Yokohama Plan of Action 2019 is an evolving document which will be updated at any time after TICAD 7 by each TICAD partner.

3. pdf Japan’s contributions for Africa (120 KB) : selected extracts from the economy section

   Launch bilateral committee on improvement of business environment in 7 countries to discuss improvement in institutions; improve the investment environment through Enhanced Private Sector Assistance for Africa with AfDB (EPSA4: Joint target with AfDB of $3.5bn in 3 years)

   Support financing for Japanese private sector to expand business in Africa through Facility for African Investment and Trade Enhancement of JBIC ($4.5bn in 3 years)

   Enhance risk money supply for Japanese private sector by JOGMEC; Launch NEXI’s new trade insurance scheme covering 100% of import costs and project financing in cooperation with African Trade Insurance Agency and Islam Development Bank Group

   Promote quality infrastructure investment in line with the G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment particularly in three priority areas (East Africa Northern Corridor, Nacala Corridor and West Africa Growth Ring) where master plans were are completed

   Blue Economy: Train 1,000 people in 3 years in the areas of maritime security, port enhancement and marine resource management; support port facilities improvement, ports management and operations; provide ships and equipments; participate in the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) as an observer

   Agriculture: Double rice production (from 28 million to 56 million ton) by 2030 through Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD); support agriculture transformation to increase farmers’ income through Smallholder Horticulture Empowerment & Promotion (SHEP); dispatch agriculture experts; support development of global food value chain; develop and expand agriculture technologies; promote innovation in agriculture by the public and private sectors

   Energy for manufacturing and service industries: Develop renewable energy including geothermal; promote off grid energy; revise MoC on Japan-US energy cooperation in Africa

4. pdf TICAD6: 2016-2018 report (3.16 MB)
   

TICAD7 news updates:

Prime Minister Abe’s remarks at the Public-Private Business Dialogue Session (pdf). A country that is deeply indebted is a country difficult for you to penetrate into. We will choose ten priority countries each year for the next three years, for a total of thirty countries, and provide their officials with training in sovereign debt and risk management. To Ghana and Zambia, we will send advisers on debt management and macroeconomic management.

The World Bank and the Government of Japan have announced a new Africa-focused initiative aimed at advancing the goals of the Human Capital Project, a global effort to accelerate more and better investments in people for greater equity and economic growth. The multi-year initiative, announced during the seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development, will support two key initiatives of relevance to African countries: (a) The Global Education Policy Dashboard. Together with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the United Kingdom Department for International Development, the World Bank is developing a policy dashboard focused on giving governments in low- and middle- income countries a better understanding of what’s going on in their education systems at the school and system level in basic education, so they can make, and track the impact of, real-time policy decisions at the national level; (b) A Japan-Africa higher education partnership aimed at increasing collaboration between Japanese universities and industries and African universities to address urgent developmental challenges in sub-Saharan Africa.

Gavi sets ambitious goal to immunise 300 million people by 2025. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance has called on donors to back plans to immunise an additional 300 million children, saving up to eight million lives, in developing countries between 2021 and 2025, launching a fundraising drive of at least $7.4bn. A total of $3.6bn will be invested by developing country governments in their own vaccine programmes over the period, up from $1.6n in 2016-2020. The 2021-25 Investment Opportunitywas launched at a special event at the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Yokohama co-hosted by the Japanese government, which has supported Gavi with around $150m since 2011. [New Gavi impact figures released]

South Africa’s July trade figures record a R2.88bn deficit (SARS)

The R2.88bn trade deficit is attributable to exports of R112.94n and imports of R115.82n. Exports increased from June 2019 to July 2019 by R3.74bn (3.4%) while imports increased by R12.17bn (11.7%). The June 2019 trade surplus was revised upwards by R1.12bn from the previous month’s preliminary surplus of R4.42bn, to a revised surplus of R5.54bn as a result of ongoing Vouchers of Correction. The main month-on-month export movements are: vehicles and transport equipment (+R3 187bn, +22%), vegetable products (+R1 846bn, +28%), chemical products (+R1 366bn, +23%). The main month-on-month import movements are: machinery and electronics (+R4 825bn, +22%), vehicles and transport equipment (+R2 959bn, +32%), wood pulp and paper (+R 654m, +25%). The Africa zone figures (pdf): Exports of R30 585 million (an increase of R3 134 million from June 2019’s revised figures); Imports of R11 572 million (a decrease of R2 730 million). The Africa zone trade surplus of R19 013 million is an improvement of R5 863 million in comparison to the R13 150 million surplus recorded in June 2019.

Uganda: Toward scaled-up and sustainable agriculture finance and insurance (World Bank)

Diarise:

1. Launch of The Digital Economy Report 2019 (4 September, Geneva). The report examines the development implications of the growing role of digital platforms, particularly in the big data sphere andc will assess what countries need to do to capture a fair share of the value created in the digital economy for their own development. The scope of this new analysis will include the market impact of new technologies, the consequences for small businesses in developing countries and the implications in terms of infrastructure, skills, respect for competition, data protection, and taxation, among other issues.

2. Mining for change: natural resources and industry in Africa. The book, authored by John Page and Finn Tarp, will be available in January 2020. The book presents research results for Ghana, Mozambique, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia: each country study covers managing the boom, the construction sector, and linking industry to the resource.