We Are Tomodachi Summer 2018

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7We are now ready for serious business.S.K. Maina Ambassador of the Republic of Kenya in JapanAdding efficiency to partnering with Africa: TICADAurélien Agbénonci The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Republic of Beninrelationships possible. The Republicof Benin brought up the point thatwe consider human security, health,and economic growth to be the threepillars of improving life in Africa, andeveryone agreed that the path for theimprovement is fi nancial strength.Establishing economic zones,eliminating corruption, and maintainingworking environments is expected todrive private-sector investment, andTICAD is designing the framework tobuild new partnerships and strengthenexisting ones for the developmentof Africa.participants increasingly feel the need toshift attention to Africa's competitivenessin global markets. “Japan mooted theTICAD process...when African countrieswere going through very difficult times,”says Ambassador Maina. Now, however,the World Bank is forecasting 6.17%per annum GDP growth for Kenya, whileAfrica's population is expected to reach 2billion by 2050.TICAD participants clearly are focusedon new dynamics. TICAD VI, for instance,held discussions on universal healthcare, social stability, and terrorism andradicalization. “Africa has moved veryfast,” says the Ambassador, “and so weare saying, we are now ready for seriousbusiness...we have now reached the levelof ‘partnership.'”From building railways and hospitalsto debating global market access forAfrican agricultural exports and boostinghi-tech startups, the issues facing TICAD7 delegates in Yokohama next yearwill be very different from those their1993 predecessors confronted. PrimeMinister Abe's “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy” plan unveiled in Nairobiadresses issues facing this new worldorder. “Kenya is a firm believer in rulesbasedinternational systems,” says theAmbassador, “we all have to trade amongourselves. If we don't, we all will suffer.”A quarter-century after TICAD I convenedin Tokyo in 1993, this ground-breakingforum for Africa-Japan dialogue ondevelopment reached a major turning pointwith TICAD VI in Nairobi in 2016. JapanesePrime Minister Shinzo Abe headed a hugeJapanese delegation to Kenya's capitalfor the first TICAD held on African soil.Yet while no one would deny the powerfulsymbolism, Ambassador of the Republicof Kenya in Japan S.K. Maina likes to alsorecall an earlier milestone. “The definingmoment for TICAD,” says the Ambassador,“was TICAD V in Yokohama, Japan, wherethe leaders first said that we need toinvolve the private sector and move TICADto Africa....It has changed TICAD's wholeperspective.”There can be little doubt that previousTICAD forums have had a significantimpact on African development. Sincethat first 1993 dialogue, transportationc o r r i d o r s h a v e b e e n b u i l t , p o r t smodernized, education and public healthimproved. However, with many earlyTICAD goals being achieved, AfricanThe objective of TICAD is to developmultilateral partnerships for Africato tackle a wide array of challenges,extending beyond unidirectionalsupport. Instead, it strives to providethe tools that lead to socioeconomicdevelopment, security, and peacethrough long-term partnerships.TICAD VI, held in Nairobi, Kenya,exemplifi ed this mission.Lively and structured conversationsbetween Africa, Japan, and otherstakeholders made more powerful