Ministers and minister-level officials from Japan, Egypt, and 40 other African countries met in Tokyo for a two-day ministerial meeting of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), culminating in the adoption of a joint communiqué aimed at strengthening collaboration ahead of next year's summit. The meeting, held August 24-25, addressed a wide range of topics including health, climate change, and business. During the discussions, the ministers agreed that reforming the UN Security Council is "indispensable for redressing historical injustices against Africa," according to the joint communiqué. In her opening remarks on Saturday, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa emphasised the importance of discussing the future vision of Africa. Japan launched TICAD in 1993 to discuss the development of Africa. The conference has been held every three years. The next TICAD will be held in August 2025 in Yokohama, near Tokyo. The communiqué outlined several key areas of discussion, including the importance of collaboration for sustainable development, and recognising the need to address development challenges such as climate change, health, education, agriculture, food security, nutrition, energy, and water. Ministers also highlighted the need for effective and responsible utilisation of digital technology, including artificial intelligence, as well as capacity building to drive the digital transformation of Africa. Recognising the importance of connectivity for socio-economic development, ministers agreed on the need to develop regional hubs for capacity building, improve transport infrastructure and services, and add value in implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). They also stressed the critical role of women, peace, and security (WPS), and the perspective of women and youth in ensuring human dignity and security. The ministers reaffirmed the importance of prioritising conflict 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. They 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. Further, the ministers reaffirmed the importance of enhancing governance by strengthening the capacities of public institutions including e-governance, 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. They also recognised the increasing momentum on UN Security Council reform and reiterated that the reform, including the expansion of permanent and non-permanent categories of membership, is indispensable for redressing historical injustices against Africa, in full accordance with the Common African Position. In addition, the ministers underscored the need for creating an open, reliable, and resilient start-up ecosystem that can sustainably attract and manage domestic and external resources. They committed to making efforts to forge strategic partnerships with the private sector in order to improve Africa's business environment for inclusive economic growth and sustainable development. The meeting also acknowledged progress made by Japan 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-organisers committed to meeting and discussing how to operationalize the TICAD monitoring and evaluation mechanism. The ministers reiterated the importance of aligning 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.
