Mozambique | Maputo hosts Tokyo International Conference on African Development

Mozambique will host the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) from today to Friday, an event that will be attended by foreign ministers, among other government officials, the Mozambican press reported.

The meeting, which is taking place for the first time in Mozambique, has already confirmed the participation of 31 African ministers, including 24 Ministers for Foreign Affairs, seven other ministers and vice ministers, according to the Mozambican Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Oldemiro Balói.

The Minister said that TICAD is an opportunity to showcase cooperation between Japan and African countries, with the opening session due to be inaugurated by the President of Mozambique.

The Mozambican delegation at the meeting will take the opportunity to reveal the result of Japan’s cooperation in the country, with Balói citing as examples the recovery of the port of Nacala, laying asphalt on the Mandiba/Lichinga road and the construction of the Infulene Institute of Sciences and Health.

The TICAD process consists of five co-organizers, namely the Government of Japan, the African Union Commission, the Office of the United Nations Special Adviser on Africa, the United Nations Development Program and the World Bank.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono will be present on both days of the conference, and on Sunday will travel onwards to Ethiopia to meet with African Union officials.

In addition to Taro Kono and other members of his delegation, representatives of more than 50 Japanese companies are expected to be present in Maputo, according to the number mentioned by the Japanese ambassador to Mozambique, Toshio Ikeda, after a meeting with Mozambican Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosário. MDT/Macauhub