Arab News Japan

TOKYO:  Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio is planning to attend the eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8), which will take place in Tunisia on August 27 and 28, but the final decision depends “on the extent of the spread of COVID-19,” Foreign Minister HAYASHI Yoshimasa stated.

“If circumstances allow, Prime Minister Kishida plans to visit Tunisia to attend TICAD 8,” Hayashi said in replying to a question from Arab News Japan at a regular press conference held at the foreign ministry on July 26.

TICAD 8 will deal this year with many challenges, such as a worldwide increase in COVID-19 infections and food and energy prices that have surged since Russia invaded Ukraine, which is having a significant impact on the African economy, Hayashi pointed out.

Furthermore, according to Hayashi, “TICAD 8 in August will center around discussions we’ve been having regarding food security… and we plan to discuss the challenges  Africa faces while looking toward a post-COVID era, and we want to show the future course of African development.”

“The Ukraine situation has impacted Africa, and there is a need for further cooperation from the international community, which we discussed in a TICAD ministerial meeting I chaired in March this year.”

The Government of Japan has been leading the TICAD conference since 1993, co-hosted by United Nations, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Bank and African Union Commission (AUC).