Japan-Africa development conference opens in Tunisia

By Yosra Ounas

TUNIS, Tunisia (AA) – The Eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8) kicked off Saturday in the Tunisian capital, Tunis.

Officials, businessmen and NGOs from 48 countries are taking part in the two-day event.

Addressing the meeting, Tunisian President Kais Saied called for developing new mechanisms to achieve development in the African continent.

He said TICAD summit will seek to “look for methods to enable African nations to achieve their hopes, aspirations and dreams.”

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida took part in the conference via video-conference as he was unable to travel to Tunisia after being tested positive for COVID-19.

The TICAD platform was initiated by Japan in 1993 to address challenges of development in Africa. The last TICAD conference was held in 2019 after which it was interrupted due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Among the 300 participants in the TICAD 8, there are 100 Japanese participants representing 50 big economic companies, in addition to 100 participants from Africa and 100 others from Tunisia.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar