3 June 2013: At the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V), African leaders and over 2,000 international development practitioners, including from 51 African countries, discussed ‘Inclusive and Dynamic Development in Africa.’ The Conference took place in Tokyo, Japan, from 1-3 June 2013.

TICAD V adopted the Yokohama Declaration 2013 and Yokohama Action Plan 2013-2017, which identifies three pillars for development: a robust and sustainable economy; an inclusive and resilient society; and peace and stability. The documents also highlight six strategic approaches for development, related to: promoting private sector-led growth; accelerating infrastructure development; empowering farmers; promoting sustainable and resilient growth; creating an inclusive society for growth; and consolidating peace, stability and good governance. The meeting included 19 seminars to discuss these themes.

As part of the meeting, the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) co-hosted a side event on efforts to advance sustainable management of African forests, while highlighting opportunities to support African countries to progress toward sustainable forest management (SFM). The ITTO, the Government of Japan and the Government of Cote d’Ivoire signed an agreement on the implementation of a new ITTO project to rehabilitate forest lands.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon chaired a session on “Towards the Post-2015 Development Agenda,” where he highlighted the leadership of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia, who served as a co-chair of the UN High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (HLP). Ban said speeding up progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) sets the stage for success on the post-2015 development agenda, where the goal will be to expand on the MDGs’ strengths and empower people while protecting the planet, he said. Ban welcomed the “high interest among Africans” in the post-2015 development agenda, highlighting that three dozen national consultations took place in Africa, and that over half of the 500,000 people who have participated in the “MY World” online survey are from Africa. Finally, he noted that both South and North alike must change the ways their economies work.

Sirleaf described opportunities to enhance Japanese-African private sector partnerships and lamented that, despite fast growth and large foreign investment, Africa still faces extreme poverty.

The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) also announced its development aid package of US$6.5 billion, with goals of increasing training and education opportunities, and promoting farming as a business.

Japan co-hosts TICAD every five years, along with the UN, the UN Office of the Special Advisor on Africa (OSAA), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank, as well as with representatives of partner countries, international and regional organizations, the private sector and civil society organizations. The first TICAD conference took place in 1993. [JICA Press Release] [ITTO Press Release] [TICAD Website] [Government of Liberia Press Release] [Statement of UN Secretary-General]