TOKYO: Japan is scheduled to host a conference with African leaders on the region’s development in the port city of Yokohama near Tokyo in August next year, the government said Friday.
The ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, known as TICAD 9, will be an opportunity to forge closer relations with Africa, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a press conference.
“Africa, which has a young population and rich natural resources, is a continent that is expected to see dynamic growth and has enhanced its presence as an important player in the international community in recent years,” Hayashi said.
The three-day TICAD 9 from 20th August 2025, is set to come at a time when Tokyo is seeking to strengthen cooperation with developing and emerging countries, collectively dubbed as the ‘Global South’.
For Yokohama, located south of Tokyo, it will be its fourth time to host the TICAD summit. The previous round of talks was convened in Tunisia in 2022.
Co-hosted by Japan, the United
Nations, the World Bank, the U.N. Development Programme and the African Union Commission, TICAD has been held every three years since 2013. Before that, it had taken place every five years following its launch in 1993.
Ahead of the TICAD summit, ministerial talks involving Japan and African nations will be held this year in Tokyo for two days from 24th August, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Source: Emirates News Agency