The Third Japan-African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) Summit Roundtable was held on 26 September 2015 in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, USA under the theme “Towards the Next TICAD in Africa”. The objective of the meeting was to prepare for the next, and sixth, Tokyo International Conference on Africa’s Development (TICAD) Summit that is scheduled to take place, for the first time in Africa, in 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya.
The meeting discussed the priorities of the different African RECs, paving the way for priority areas of cooperation between Japan and Africa under TICAD VI. The major issues that there highlighted for continued cooperation include infrastructure development; industrialization; skills development; science and technology; and health. The Chairperson of SADC represented by Hon. Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Botswana, expressed the importance of continued cooperation under TICAD VI emphasizing the Region’s priorities as outlined in the Revised Regional Indicative Development Plan (RISDP).
The meeting was chaired by the Prime Minister of Japan, H.E. Mr Shinzo Abe, Heads of State or their representatives of the countries chairing African Union and the different African RECs including the Republic of Botswana (representing SADC); Republic of Chad (representing CEN-SAD); the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (representing COMESA and IGAD); the Republic of Gabon (representing ECCAS and CEEAC); Lybia (representing AMU); the Republic of Senegal (representing ECOWAS and NEPAD); the Republic of Zimbabwe (representing the AU); and the Republic of Kenya (host of TICAD VI). The meeting was also attended by the Heads of the Secretariats of the RECs, the African Union Commission, NEPAD, African Development Bank, JICA as well as the Co-organizers of TICAD. The SADC Executive Secretary, H.E. Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax, attended the meeting.
