Pre-TICAD 7 Event (co-organized by Japan, UNIDO and AU Commission)

On July 4, 2019, the Pre-TICAD 7 Event titled “Partnering with Japan for Africa’s inclusive and sustainable industrialization”, was held jointly by Japan, UNIDO and the AU Commission. The event was a partner project of the seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7), which is to be held this August in Yokohama, Japan.
 
The organizers were honored by the attendance of H.E. Mr. Malam Zaneidou, Minister of Industry of Niger, as one of the panelists. The panel included other prominent actors working for Africa’s industrial development from the continent, officials from development organizations, as well as senior UNIDO staff. From Japan, TICAD Ambassador Mr. Masahiko Kiya made a presentation on the TICAD process. Japan was also represented on the podium by panelists from JICA, JETRO and a Japanese private company. More than 200 participants  from Permanent Missions in Vienna and Geneva, international organizations, NGOs, the private sector and universities joined the event and engaged with the panelists.
 
In the opening session, H.E. Mr. Mitsuru Kitano, Ambassador of the Permanent Mission of Japan, summarized the longstanding cooperation between Japan and UNIDO in the TICAD process, and on Africa’s industrial development. He appealed that “Making use of the momentum of this TICAD year, we wish to enhance discussions, also here in Vienna, on the promotion of industrial development of Africa, in cooperation with UNIDO”. H.E. Ambassador Kruger of the Permanent Mission of Namibia, Chair of the African Group, stated that the “TICAD process has contributed tremendously to Africa’s development”. She expressed her expectations towards TICAD 7 saying “Now we should explore how to increase investments in technology transfer & human resources development”. Mr. Li Yong, Director-General of UNIDO, stated that UNIDO was a long-standing partner of TICAD and the lead agency of implementation of the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa (IDDA III). He added that “UNIDO continues to seek synergies between IDDA III and the TICAD process and to further scale up our successful initiatives in Africa.”
 
TICAD Ambassador Kiya, in this presentation, introduced TICAD 7 as “a dynamic partnering framework, with African people at the center and all partners support Africa’s priorities”. He explained that TICAD 7 will focus on business, investment and innovation, which are key drivers of development, and will further strengthen participation of the private sector.
 
[Links]
Pre-TICAD7 Event Webpage （UNIDO）
https://www.unido.org/events/pre-ticad7-event-vienna
 
TICAD 7 Webpage (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan)
https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/africa/ticad/ticad7/index.html