Zuma en route to Kenya for TICAD summit

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Zuma en route to Kenya for TICAD summit

8:10 CAT | 25 Aug 2016

South African President Jacob Zuma arrives ahead of addressing editors at the SA National Editors' Forum (Sanef) in Johannesburg June 24, 2013. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

SABC / Zuma will be joined by Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, as well as 35 African heads of State at the TICAD Summit.

President Jacob Zuma arrives in Kenya on Thursday for the two day Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) which will be held in the Kenyan capital – Nairobi, over the weekend.

Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, as well as 35 African heads of State have confirmed their attendance. TICAD is jointly organized by Japan, the African Union (AU), World Bank and the United Nations (UN), to bring together development partners to discuss Africa’s growth and development.

The sixth TICAD Summit – the first in Africa, comes three years since the last one. South Africa is currently Japan’s largest trade partner in Africa.

Zuma and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are scheduled to hold bilateral talks prior to the TICAD VI Summit.

Deputy Minister for International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), Nomaindiya Mfeketo, says, “We are hoping to strengthen, especially in South Africa, what we already have because we have 140 companies with the employment of 140 000 people. So we are hoping to strengthen that.”

Japan is Africa’s eighth largest donor with $1.07 Billion in aid, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). With Japan now actively engaging in Africa, some analysts see this as a way of countering China’s growing influence in Africa but Africa says it is after all fruitful partnerships.

“There is so much to do in Africa. All the countries see the continent as the place to be, and I think it is only proper for us to welcome that. It is our time.”

The President will also attend the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) forum, which will take place on the side-lines of the TICAD VI Summit. Five ministers and one deputy minister are accompanying Zuma during his three day visit.”

Source: SABC