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important role . By visiting a lot of African countries , they witnessed the developments and the changes of Africa , bringing back messages of hope from Africa back to Japan . Which in turn , helped the parliament to pressure the Japanese government to pay more attention to Africa . This is one way parliamentarians are contributing . On the other side , they have also been encouraging Japanese corporations and companies to go to the African continent . A lot of Japanese companies were still negatively influenced by the African pessimism era and unfortunately , as is the nature of the press , media mostly report about the bad stories . So by doing that , parliamentarians were able to promote a better understanding of the current political situation in Africa and to explain that Africa is moving forward fast in the democratic process , strengthening its democracy . They also understood the economic and new economic dynamics of Africa , seeing the need to support Africa now more than ever , because it is taking off .
When TICAD was created 20 years ago , Japan was recognizing the future significance of Africa . Since then , a lot of other countries have taken up interest in Africa and its resources . What is Japan ’ s stance towards this competition ? How is Japan keeping up with the rapid growth and development of Africa ?
Maruyama Norio : We don ’ t consider the participation of other countries as competition , as you say , because it is complementary . We can complement others in the ways in which we excel , for example infrastructure . We are able to provide this type of high quality infrastructures . Why not go ahead and help where it is needed the most ? But on the other hand , if this kind of high quality structure is not needed and another country wants to provide that , they should go ahead and do it . But they should always respect the ownership of Africa . If we can harmonize this process , this will be a win-win situation for everyone .
Belmiro José Malate : First of all , we are all very encouraged by the way our economic cooperation with Japan is growing . A few years back , we hardly knew any Japanese companies , but if you go to Mozambique today , you will find that more than 10 Japanese companies are not only investing but also have their offices in Mozambique . You will find that many medium and small size companies are beginning to establish themselves in Mozambique . This kind of success can be witnessed in many other African countries as well - and one reason we were able to achieve this was through the TICAD process .
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organizer . What is the role of the AU in the organization of the future TICAD summit ? How do the AU and the African Diplomatic Corps ( ADC ) work together ?
Belmiro José Malate : The TICAD process is about the African continent , which has been working together in order to secure the development of the continent and to improve the life standards of the African citizens . In that respect the African Union plays a very important role . They came up with a number of programs designed to ensure that these goals of development are achieved . As TICAD is focusing on Africa , we needed to find a way to align the TICAD program of action with African priorities . So this is the number one responsibility . It is the task of the African Commission to ensure that our responsibility as African countries in the TICAD process is implemented . When it comes to the relationship between the African Union ( AU ) and the ADC , I can summarize it as coordination .
Maruyama Norio : I fully agree with the Ambassador ’ s point . There is no conflict of interests between Japan and the African Union in regards to the development of Africa . As I mentioned previously , the whole nature of the relationship between Japan and Africa became much stronger after the participation of the AUC as a co-organizer . And I think that the participation of the ADC is one characteristic that defines the uniqueness of the TICAD process .
During the past few years , the city of Yokohama has been very active , and is serving as a bridge between the cultures of Africa and Japan . How is the cultural dialogue between both regions evolving ?
Maruyama Norio : The active participation and valuable contributions from the City of Yokohama have greatly assisted in the development of the whole TICAD process . The city is very engaged in deepening Japan ’ s relationship with Africa . Their contribution is more than cultural , it is encouraging that the city of Yokohama , with its expertise in terms of urbanization , is on board . Yokohama already has agreements with cities in Asia to help
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them overcome challenges of urbanization . I ’ m quite sure that the rapid development and the changes in demographics in Africa could cause huge problems . We need to make preparations to quickly discuss how to address these kinds of issues in TICAD . We will be grateful for the contribution of the City of Yokohama in this area .
Belmiro José Malate : What I can say is that we definitely consider Yokohama as a home away from home . They have been very welcoming and we have been participating in many events , which have been organized by the city of Yokohama at the last TICAD meeting . Through these events , we are influencing the young generation and teaching them about the importance of building cultural bridges between Japan and other countries particularly Africa . So to answer your question : yes , the dialogue is going to continue and it will grow even more .
H . E . Mr . Belmiro José Malate Ambassador of the Republic of Mozambique to Japan .
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