Japan will hold a major conference on African development this week amid growing competition with its regional rivals for influence in the poverty-stricken but resource-rich continent.
With China and India seeking to forge closer ties with the region and secure commodities to fuel their economic booms, the event is seen as a key opportunity for Japan to maintain its diplomatic clout.
Japan has invited 52 African countries to the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, which it hosts every five years along with the UN, the World Bank and other organizations.
BIG NAMES
Leaders from 44 African countries are expected to meet in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo, including Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir and South African President Thabo Mbeki.
Talks will focus on tackling food shortages, boosting economic growth and reducing poverty.
Japan has long used aid as a key diplomatic tool. It was the world’s top donor in 1991, but its assistance is slipping as the debt-laden country tightens its belt.
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda is expected to formally announce plans at the conference to double Japan’s financial assistance to Africa by 2012.
“We must bring more fresh money to help African partners,” Masato Kitera, director-general for African affairs, said at Japan’s foreign ministry.
PRIVATE INVESTMENT
Japan hopes to use some of its overseas development aid (ODA) to help spur badly needed private-sector interest in the war-ravaged continent.
Japanese companies “may hesitate to invest in Africa, judging the risk or the cost as too high,” Kitera said. “The Japanese ODA can reduce the risk or cost of the private sector going to Africa.”
The event, which is expected to draw 2,500 participants, comes as Japan looks to boost its diplomatic profile ahead of the G8 summit, which it will host in July.
Gaining support from African countries, which account for about 30 percent of the world’s nations, is key for Japan to achieve its diplomatic goals, such as a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, officials said.
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
RSS