Japan has contributed to Africa’s growth through infrastructure development, job creation through the expansion of manufacturing industries, and resource and energy development. At the same time, it has deepened its cooperation with the Indian Ocean countries such as India and the Middle East. In February of this year, Japan proposed the “Japan-India Cooperation Initiative for Sustainable Economic Development of Africa”. It is also working to promote industrial clusters in India as bases for expanding trade and investment in Africa, as well as expanding private investment, job creation, and human resource development in Africa.

Initiatives include subsidies to support businesses in emerging markets, and linkages with existing support schemes of JETRO, Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), and JICA. In this context, Prime Minister Ishiba just announced the “Economic Region Initiative of Indian Ocean-Africa”. Under this initiative, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) will work with Africa to forge closer working relationships with Indian Ocean countries, for the purpose of establishing a relationship of co-creation between Japan and Africa. Additionally, to accelerate business in Africa, METI will also support Japanese companies that engage in collaborations with third countries.

To win trust in Africa, a commitment to solving problems jointly is crucial. More specifically, the pillars of this effort need to include development of high-quality heavy infrastructure such as roads and ports; soft infrastructure through free trade agreements (FTAs) and economic partnership agreements (EPAs); human resource infrastructure through manufacturing and management skills training; and human security infrastructure such as access to healthcare, food, and employment. The involvement of third-country companies helps African nations to avoid dependence on specific countries and extend their international networks more widely. From this perspective too, today’s theme, “Towards African Prosperity through Japan-Indian Ocean Collaboration,” was very timely.

The Indian Ocean-Africa economic region initiative represents a plan to harness the high growth potential of Africa, to strengthen its connections with neighboring countries, and to enhance its industrial vitality across a broader region. Now that AfCFTA has taken effect and progress on regional integration is being made, the steady implementation of this initiative promises to accelerate cross-border economic cooperation and generate new growth opportunities.

As the international community confronts challenges such as healthcare, climate change, and energy and food crises, this forum, which confirmed the value of cooperation between Japan, Africa, and Indian Ocean countries, has proven to be very important. Investing in Africa’s future by strengthening ties between Japan and the Indian Ocean region represents a new perspective within TICAD. In accordance with its vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific, Japan will continue to invest in Africa’s future through closer connections and industrial cooperation.