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7 September, 2009 11:35 PM
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| Newsletter No. 1391
JAPAN IN AFRICA: DOUBLE VISION We reported in Shingetsu Newsletter No. 1273 that Japan would be hosting a late March 2009 ministerial-level follow-up meeting to TICAD IV. Actually, that information wasn’t quite correct. There seems to have been two related events in March. The first was held at the U Thant International Conference Hall, United Nations University, Tokyo, on March 11th; the other was held on March 21st in Gaborone, Botswana. The main Japanese speaker at both events was Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone. The media had little to say about either of these events. We noted in the Addendum to Shingetsu Newsletter No. 1310 that the Sudanese First Vice President Salva Kiir had been expected to deliver the keynote speech at the Tokyo event, but he withdrew suddenly when the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. Our main source for both events is the speeches of Foreign Minister Nakasone as posted at the MOFA website. They are provided below in the Appendix. Seiji Okada, director of MOFA’s Second Africa Division, told an African newspaper at that time, “The meeting is very important because it does not only monitor the level of implementation of each commitment but also helps Africa voice its concerns regarding the current economic situation.” Also, AFP highlighted Nakasone’s announcement of an additional US$500 million in new aid, largely for Africa. They also reported that about five hundred delegates representing countries, international agencies, and charities attended the two-day conference in Botswana. The TICAD IV pledge was repeated—to double Japan’s aid from about US$900 million dollars a year now to an annual US$1.8 billion dollars by 2012. Nakasone insisted that Japan would not back down from its promised aid, even though its economy has slipped into recession: “I would like to state once again that Japan is determined to carry out its commitments.”
A report out of Paris this week mentions another Japanese “double” promise to Africa. Japanese diplomat Koji Yonetani reiterated that Japan aims to increase private investments in Africa from the current US$1.7 billion to about US$3.4 billion, also by 2012. Yonetani, an economic adviser at the embassy of Japan in France, told journalists, “We are going to do everything to ensure the promotion of the Japanese private investments in Africa. Our objective is to increase these investments in 2012.”
At the beginning of this month, former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori criticized China’s African assistance policy. What is his gripe? Mori declared, “I wonder why [China] would do things only to please people, such as building theaters and stadiums… Countries should rather focus on support in healthcare, education, and infrastructure to help Africa become more self-reliant.” In January, China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported that the country will continue expanding assistance to Africa, particularly in building such infrastructure as hospitals, schools, and gymnasiums. China’s assistance to Africa will—you guessed it!—“double” that of 2006, according to the Xinhua report. The best way to read Mori’s criticism is to read it as the deep-rooted suspicions of China found among Japanese conservatives. After all, Yoshiro Mori and the Tokyo regime criticizing other countries for spending aid money on prestige projects meant “to please people” is enough to make me laugh out loud—I mean, look who’s talking!
Algeria This week MOFA Vice-Minister Seiko Hashimoto has paid a visit to Algeria. The official announcement does not make it clear what the purpose is. All it says is that she will meet important people and exchange opinions. Earlier this month, JGC signed a major US$1.4 billion contract with Algerian oil and gas giant Sonatrach. The contract calls for JGC to construct facilities at the Gassi Touil gas fields in the southern part of the country.
Two new aid packages for Burkina-Faso have been announced in recent months. In mid-February, a package of about US$700,000 was granted to a potable water project; and at the beginning of April, a combined total of nearly US$19 million was granted for food aid and a project to construct primary schools.
In early March, Japan granted US$8 million to the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS). The Japanese funds were expected to be used to clear landmines in Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
At the end of March, Tokyo donated about US$5 million in food aid to The Gambia. This package is part of the US$100 million in food aid that Japan promised to Africa at TICAD IV.
A number of aid packages for Mali have been unveiled in recent months. Two of these were food aid packages of a total value of almost US$15 million. Another grant aid package of about US$7.2 million went to a project to build a training institute in the city of Kati. Finally, most recently, in May, about US$12.6 in grant aid was divided in a package for the Mali-Senegal highway construction and non-project aid.
Niger is yet another country receiving new aid packages. In March, a US$18 million package was divided between food aid, potable water, and poor farmer support programs. This month, another US$7.1 was provided for another potable water package.
Policy Speech by Mr.
Hirofumi Nakasone, Minister for Foreign Affairs His Excellency Dr. Luka Biong, Minister of Presidential Affairs of the Government of Southern Sudan, His Excellency Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin, Minister of Regional Cooperation of the Government of Southern Sudan, His Excellency Mr. Samuel Poghisio, Minister for Information and Communication of the Republic of Kenya, His Excellency Mr. Farid Zarif, Chief of Staff of the United Nations Mission in Sudan, Mr. Geofrey Mugmya, Director of Peace and Security of the African Union Commission, Distinguished Panelists, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to extend my gratitude to all of you for attending the TICAD IV Follow-up Symposium today. Although it was regrettable that His Excellency Mr. Salva Kiir, the First Vice President of the Republic of the Sudan had to cancel his visit to Japan due to extenuating circumstances, it is a great pleasure for me to wholeheartedly welcome Minister Biong on his behalf and distinguished experts on the present state of peace and stability in Africa from Kenya, the African Union, and the United Nations. Introduction: My Encounter with Africa My first encounter with Africa dates back more than 30 years. At that time, I worked at a petrochemical company and was in charge of plant exports. One time, our company received business inquiries from Nigeria. I went all the way there and got off at Lagos airport all alone. At that time, only a dozen years or so had passed since Nigeria achieved its independence. Nigerians were experiencing an uplifting feeling as they started building their own nation by themselves. The country was filled with a different type of vitality from Japan. Although it was a short stay, I had to deal with everything alone because there was no overseas representative office there. As a consequence of that, however, I was able to accumulate many valuable experiences that I could never have had in Japan. Because of those experiences, I have become interested in what is going on in various parts of Africa. Thirty years have passed since then. Lately, Africa's economy has been developing rapidly. Its attractive resources under the ground and its potential market with a population of more than 900 million people are drawing attention from all over the world. Japanese companies are also actively expanding their businesses in Africa. In addition, as shown in the case of Somali pirates, incidents in Africa are having more and more impact on the security of Japanese people and their property. Furthermore, by forming the African Union (AU), African countries have strengthened regional integration in the fields of politics and the economy as well as steadily enhancing their influence in international community. When I think of those drastic changes taking place in Africa, I am overcome by deep emotion. Japan's Contribution to Africa Japan feels proud that we have contributed to African development no less than any other country has, through the process of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development or so-called TICAD. We held the fourth TICAD at the summit level in Yokohama in May last year and thereby came up with various assistance measures including a pledge to double ODA to Africa and assistance for doubling private investment to the region. In addition to that, we have drawn up the Yokohama Action Plan which contains a compiled list of specific assistance measures designed to promote African development in the coming years. We have also established a TICAD follow-up mechanism and on 21st and 22nd March this year, the TICAD ministerial follow-up meeting will be held in Botswana to review the implementation of those assistance measures. In this meeting, we are also going to discuss the impact of the current financial and economic crisis on African countries and how we can overcome the difficult situation. We will put the voices of Africa together on these matters and present them at the upcoming London summit meeting on financial markets and the world economy in April. If permitted in the Diet, I am willing to serve as a co-chair of the Botswana meeting in order to have a discussion with African colleagues. In the area of peace and stability in Africa as well, our country has extended assistance in various ways with a focus on the "consolidation" of the peace achieved. Japan has achieved significant results, such as in humanitarian assistance for refugees and internally displaced persons in Sudan and Chad, reconstruction and institution building assistance for Liberia and Sierra Leone with a view to rebuild their countries after the conclusion of peace agreements, as well as in assistance to remove mines in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, we have only started to contribute to creation of peace in Africa. In other words, our contribution at the initial stage of the peace-building process namely, solving conflicts and concluding and implementing peace agreements has just started. Therefore, today, I would like to discuss how Japan intends to cooperate in this field by mainly focusing on four areas. Active Involvement in Ending Conflicts and Achieving Peace What I would like to mention first is active involvement in putting an end to conflicts and in achieving peace. Conclusion of a cease-fire agreement and a peace agreement by the parties concerned is a prerequisite for creating peace. Since there was a geographical and historical distance between Japan and Africa, until now, Japan has not necessarily been engaged in directly working with the conflicting parties or in the process of achieving peace agreements. It could be said that Japan has hesitated to get involved in the process. However, along with the expansion of our presence within international society, expectations by the global community, including Africa, for Japan to contribute more proactively to conflict resolution and peace negotiations has increased. In order to meet these expectations, our country needs to strengthen efforts in these fields as a responsible member of international society. For example, please allow me to discuss the cases of Sudan and Somalia. The conflict in Darfur, Sudan, is said to have left more than 200 thousand people dead and more than 2 million people internally displaced so far, and as of this moment, peace talks are underway under the Qatari government's initiative. Until recently, Japan had not participated in the peace-talk process. However, after we expressed our willingness to actively contribute to the peace talks as well as humanitarian assistance, Japan dispatched our representative to Doha peace talks for the first time last month at the invitation of the Qatari government and Mr. Bassole, the Joint African Union-United Nations Chief Mediator for Darfur. In the Doha talks, we were able to directly convey the Japanese government's message to the parties and countries concerned. Such action by Japan, based on its neutral stance, has been welcomed by the countries concerned. The same can be said about the case of Somalia. Somalia has been suffering a civil war since the beginning of the 1990's. Recently, we have seen positive trends such as the election of the new president under the "Transitional Federal Government" and the establishment of a new Cabinet and Parliament. A Japanese representative took part in the International Contact Group (ICG) meeting on the Somali situation held in Brussels last month for the first time. In the meeting, Japan stated that it has implemented assistance amounting to some 64 million dollars in the past two years for humanitarian assistance, security improvement, and support for the police. Japan's participation and contribution to the discussions were highly welcomed by the countries concerned. Needless to say, neither the conflicts in Darfur or Somalia will be solved easily and it is still unpredictable whether the current positive move toward the conclusion of peace agreements would bear fruit. But still, Japan intends to work strenuously to terminate conflicts and achieve peace together with countries concerned. Many of the subjects discussed in the UN Security Council, of which Japan has just become a member as of January, concern peace and stability in Africa. Japan, as a member of the UN Security Council, will participate in these discussions even more actively. Active Involvement in Implementing Peace Agreements The second point I would like to mention is our active involvement in implementing peace agreements. Japan is making a move toward a more proactive role in this field as well. In addition to the issue of Darfur, Sudan has another major issue, namely, the implementation of a peace agreement between the South and the North Sudan. In Sudan, the conflict between the south and the north, which had lasted for 20 years, finally came to an end in 2005 and a peace agreement is currently being implemented. The most challenging element which was implemented behind schedule in this peace process was the so-called DDR (disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration) of ex-combatants. Japan served as a co-chair at the donor's meeting on the DDR Program last June and my Government decided to provide financial aid amounting to some 17 million dollars to DDR activities ahead of any other country. This fact encouraged the Sudanese government and international society to tackle the issue more proactively. To be specific, though the DDR process had been suspended for a long time, Japan's decision to provide aid to DDR activities helped the DDR process start officially on 10 February. In the Second DDR Round Table held in the Southern Sudan the other day, many nations expressed their willingness to follow suit in providing assistance for this process. Expanding Support for Peacekeeping Capacities of African Countries Thirdly, I would like to emphasize the importance of enhancing Africa's capacity for peace building. Africa is stepping up its own efforts toward peace creation. Japan bears some 17% of the cost for UN PKO missions and currently there are 16 missions deployed worldwide. Seven of these missions which include 70% of all total staff are in Africa. Many mission staff deployed in Africa comes from African countries. Africa's own peacekeeping missions are also dispatched under the auspices of the AU to countries such as Somalia. These missions are deployed to monitor cease-fires, to maintain security and to improve humanitarian situations on the ground. However, Africa's capacity for peacekeeping is still at the early stages and requires further development. In many cases, these missions face shortages of equipment and qualified personnel. Last year, Japan hosted the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit and announced a policy of strengthened support for peace keeping capacity building with a focus on Africa. As a part of our efforts to strengthen these capabilities, Japan has been implementing support programs for PKO training centers in Africa. In these programs, Japan has extended assistance to enhance the training program, provide necessary equipment, and repair facilities for those centers. In total, 14.5 million US dollars was provided to 5 PKO training centers in countries such as Egypt, Ghana, and Kenya last year. This year, Japan will commence support for PKO centers in South Africa, Benin, and Nigeria. In addition to this financial support, Japan dispatched two Self Defence Force (SDF) officers to PKO centers in Egypt as lecturers. These officers talked about their experiences and lessons learnt through SDF's reconstruction activities in Iraq and disaster relief operations overseas. Mr. Hideaki SHINODA, Director, Hiroshima Peacebuilders Center, and Associate Professor at Hiroshima University, who is one of today's panelists, was also asked to be a lecturer. He made a lecture on developing human resources for peace keeping activities in the field. Trainees highly appreciated these discussions at which 35 people from 9 countries attended. Japan is committed to actively engaging itself in the enhancement of Africa's capacity for peace keeping. Apart from the UN PKO missions, I believe that the number of missions under the auspices of the AU will gradually increase. In Somalia, which I touched upon earlier, about 3,500 personnel are deployed for the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). But these Africa's own missions are facing financial problems and need support from international society. Japan has been providing support for these missions and will continue to do so. The final topic which I would like to discuss concerns our personnel contribution to peace-building in Africa. Since the dispatch of the SDF to the PKO mission in Mozambique, Japan had not sent the Self-Defence Forces (SDF) to Africa for approximately 15 years. Last year, however, we did send two SDF personnel to the headquarters of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS). Currently, a total of 38 Japanese personnel are sent to three UN peacekeeping operations, which ranks Japan 81st out of the 120 contributing countries. I think we need to continue enhancing our personnel contribution including personnel for peace keeping operations. I am encouraged by the fact that, presently in Sudan, even in such a severe environment, as many as 32 Japanese are making active contributions as UN staff and 26 as staff of non-governmental organizations. Among them are four graduates and trainees of Hiroshima Peacebuilders Center, a terakoya or "school" for human resource development in peace-building, which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been promoting. Furthermore, 2 Japanese staff is working diligently, literally day and night, in the African Union/United Nations Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID), which is said to be one of the harshest PKO missions in the world. I would like to see more and more Japanese get trained to work at the forefront of peace-building. Conclusion Securing peace and stability in Africa is a huge, demanding enterprise that requires deep determination and resolution. Japan has accumulated experience, wisdom and achievement in the field of reconstruction and development. Building on what Japan has achieved so far, my Government wants to strengthen its engagement throughout all the phases of the peace-building process including that of peace-making which Japan has not excelled in so far. Needless to say, there are certain activities that Japan can engage itself in and other activities that Japan cannot. However, I think that we can do more. I would like to explore this possibility to the fullest extent possible. This is the question I would like to present before you for discussion. I hope I can learn as much as possible from today's discussions. Thank you for your kind attention.
Your Excellencies, honorable Ministers, and distinguished delegates, Ladies and gentlemen, It was May of last year that TICAD IV was held and the Yokohama Declaration and the Yokohama Action Plan were announced. A few months later, the world was beset by a financial and economic crisis said to occur once in a century. The international community is currently engaged in all-out efforts to overcome this crisis. The week after next, the second Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy will be convened in London. Amidst such developments, we have come together here at Gaborone to undertake follow-up on TICAD IV. First of all today, as one of this meeting's co-chairs, I would like to provide a general overview of the status of implementation of the Yokohama Action Plan thus far. On that basis, I would then like to share my thoughts on how the countries of Africa and development partners who share the TICAD spirit should advance their cooperation amidst this crisis. The impact of the Global Financial and Economic Crisis on Africa With regard to the impact of the global financial and economic crisis on Africa, what is now of the greatest concern is that there is a possibility that Africa will be profoundly affected by this crisis and that its economy, which has attained such striking growth in recent years, will suffer a slowdown while achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is dramatically delayed. This would mean that the efforts of the development partners and the countries of Africa would come to naught, so this must be avoided at all costs. Status of Implementation of the Yokohama Action Plan The Annual Progress Report 2008 that you have in front summarizes the status of implementation of the Yokohama Action Plan over the approximately nine months since TICAD IV was convened. Even though the financial and economic crisis has dramatically shaken the economies of development partner countries, progress has been seen in a large number of fields. I am firmly convinced that the first year of the follow-up constitutes a very positive start. Boosting Economic Growth To begin with, I would like to speak about the area of boosting economic growth, which is the first pillar of TICAD IV. First, missions constituted by a total of 180 participants from both private sector and the government visited twelve African countries in order to promote trade and investment with Africa, and an independent report has been compiled that incorporates their recommendations on measures to be taken. The Japanese government also held a symposium in this regard in Tokyo to which six African countries were invited. In addition, we are planning to dispatch additional missions this year. Moreover, in the field of tourism, a seminar is scheduled to be held in Uganda in June this year under the framework of the Africa-Asia Business Forum (AABF). Second, in order to double Japanese private investment in Africa by 2012, financial assistance on a scale of 2.5 billion US dollars was pledged at TICAD IV, and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has already authorized a total of 740 million dollars for the promotion of investment and its environment by Japanese companies. Third, 300 million US dollars in soft loans have already been extended to the African Development Bank (AfDB), thereby providing a facility that can be utilized by the African private sector, which is facing cash flow problems. Fourth, 70% of the poor in sub-Saharan Africa are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. The Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD), which plays a role in promoting agriculture by aiming to double rice production output over the next ten years, has already commenced steady activities. Fifth, with regard to developing regional transport and power infrastructure, as an example, Japan has already made commitment for projects amounting equivalent to approximately 36% of the total amount of assistance that we announced to provide over the next five years in the form of grant aid and technical cooperation. Achievement of the MDGs and the Consolidation of Peace Next, I will address progress in areas of achieving the MDGs, which is the second pillar of TICAD IV, and the consolidation of peace, the third pillar. A large number of projects have been launched in order to support these extremely important goals for ensuring human security. While I will not touch on them in any detail in my remarks today, roughly half of the 25-page Progress Status List is comprised of progress made in these two areas. Addressing Environmental Issues and Climate Change Looking now at progress in environmental issues and climate change, the forth pillar of TICAD IV, I would like to talk about the Cool Earth Partnership. This is a Japanese initiative to assist developing countries that aim to contribute to the stabilization of the climate by working to achieve both greenhouse gas emissions reductions and economic growth in a compatible way. I am pleased that 27 African nations -more than half of the countries on the African continent- have become Cool Earth partners. Broadening Partnerships In the TICAD process, emphasis is placed on South-South cooperation, particularly on enhancing the promotion of Asia-Africa cooperation. During these nine months, efforts have been underway to expand new partnerships, such as cooperation between African countries and emerging donors and collaboration with civil society and the private sector. The fact that we have private sector and NGO representatives from both Japan and Africa participating as speakers at this meeting is also evidence of this. Japanese Assistance Hereafter Because the Yokohama Action Plan was originally formulated aiming "towards a Vibrant Africa," having looked at progress thus far, it causes us to realize once again that this Action Plan provides us with an effective prescription, even when faced with the new situation like the current global financial and economic crisis. At TICAD IV, Japan announced that it would double its ODA for Africa by 2012 and that it would assist in doubling Japanese private investment there by then. Among my African colleagues there may be some who are worried whether these pledges will be honored, as Japan is also heavily impacted by this crisis. However, taking this opportunity, I would like to state once again that Japan is determined to carry out its commitments made at TICAD IV without fail. In particular, I would like to confirm once more that Japan will indeed be providing up to 4 billion US dollars in concessional loans to Africa over the five year period. The global financial and economic crisis that has arisen since this past autumn can be expected to impact the countries of Africa for at least two years to come. With this in mind, in this period of crisis, we will actively mobilize the consessional loans that I just mentioned, while expediting the implementation as early as possible of 2 billion US dollars of grant and technical assistance, in order to steadily carry out our commitments. By doing so, we will be able to advance economic growth in the fields of infrastructure development, human resource development, and agriculture with greater impact. With a view to the attainment of the MDGs, Japan will more strongly support the efforts of African countries in such areas as community development, education, health, and water and sanitation, while also further scaling up and reinforcing our assistance in the field of the environment in order to realize sustainable development. Japan intends to intensively conduct more than one hundred preparatory surveys by the first half of this year so as to concretize and realize these assistance measures. Distinguished delegates, Japan will also undertake assistance that addresses more directly the impacts of the financial and economic crisis on Africa. For example, this March, Japan provided to Africa food and humanitarian related assistance of approximately 300 million US dollars, recognizing that the socially vulnerable people are the ones who will be most severely impacted as this crisis expands. In addition, as countermeasures to infectious diseases, next week Japan will be disbursing approximately 200 million US dollars to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, of which Africa is a major beneficiary. Furthermore, Japan has made available such measures as up to 100 billion US dollars equivalent lending to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and 3 billion US dollars Bank Recapitalization Fund initiated by International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Japan Bank for International Corporation (JBIC), and African countries are welcome to utilize these. Japan will also provide assistance for human resource development in the finance sector in order to reinforce Africa's financial systems and so on. The Roles of Africa and Other Donors Until now I have been speaking of what Japan stands ready to do. And yet, TICAD is not a conference at which development partners unilaterally make pledges and commitments. The basic principle of the TICAD process, and, indeed, a principle now held in common by the international community, is for the international community to support, as partners, Africa's self-help efforts-that is, "ownership" by Africa itself. Swift and close cooperation by African countries is critical for carrying out the commitments made at TICAD IV efficiently and effectively. There are concerns that public revenues, foreign direct investment, private capital inflows, and remittances from abroad will all decrease henceforth, as repercussions of the financial and economic crisis. It goes without saying that the efforts of my African colleagues present here, will be indispensable in order not to decrease these and to use development resources in the most effective way. I strongly hope that all African countries will take the initiative in undertaking necessary measures, such as prioritizing allocations of resource to push national development policies forward and identifying appropriate projects that contribute to growth, thereby engaging in "ownership" to the greatest possible extent. At this juncture, I emphatically call upon other development partner countries and organizations, not to reduce their assistance to Africa, but instead to be engaged even more proactively than before, with the same determination being shown by Japan. Towards the London Summit I would like to propose to send out a message to the London Summit at the end of this Meeting, based on the discussions over the next two days. Prime Minister Aso intends to take this message to the Summit and, along with the representatives from Africa, reflect the "voices of Africa" in the discussions of the heads of state and government. I would like to close my remarks today with my sincere hope that at this meeting that we are about to begin, valuable and constructive discussions take place and a robust message is sent out. Thank you very much for listening.
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