The African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org)
will play a key role in the eighth edition of the Tokyo International
Conference on African Development (TICAD) taking place in the Tunisian capital,
Tunis, this year as Japan—a long-time development partner of Africa—continues
to lend its economic weight to the continent’s progress.
Running
from 27 to 28 August, TICAD8 will bring together delegates from across the
continent, including the African Development Bank Group.
Japan
is expected to offer further support to strengthen the development of communication
infrastructure on the continent and to help address food security. Through
continued cooperation with Japan, the African Development Bank Group continues
to promote strong, inclusive, and sustainable growth in Africa.
The
event is co-organized by the Japanese government, the United Nations Office of
the Special Adviser on Africa, the United Nations Development Programme, the
African Union Commission, and the World Bank.
Adesina will also deliver keynote
remarks at TICAD8 Business Forum.
Dr.
Adesina will meet with senior Japanese government officials, African leaders,
and business participants. Discussions will cover partnership opportunities to
increase support for Africa’s transformation as the continent builds back
better from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The
Japanese government and the African Development Bank Group enjoy a privileged
relationship. Japan is one of the largest contributors to the institution. It
recently participated in the 15th replenishment of the African Development
Fund, the Bank Group’s concessional lending arm, and in the African Development
Bank’s 7th General Capital Increase.
Japan
and the African Development Bank spearheaded the Enhanced Private Sector
Assistance for Africa initiative. It is the largest and longest-standing
bilateral partnership that the African Development Bank Group has with any of
its member countries. The four components of this assistance are: accelerated
co-financing; non-sovereign loans; the Fund for African Private Sector
Assistance, and the Private Sector Investment Finance scheme. These four
components support the implementation of the African Development Bank’s private
sector development strategy.
The
Enhanced Private Sector Assistance for Africa initiative has been successfully
implemented over three phases from 2007. Over the years, the African
Development Bank Group and Japan—through the Japan International Cooperation
Agency—have contributed approximately $5.2 billion to investments in sovereign
operations and non-sovereign operations. They have also invested $86.9 million
in technical assistance and capacity building. The fifth phase of EPSA is being
negotiated and will be announced during TICAD8.
The
African Development Bank Group promotes development agendas aligned with the
Japanese government to facilitate food security, climate change, health,
digitalization and debt management across Africa.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African
Development Bank Group (AfDB).
Source: APO Group