JAPAN and the WORLD Magazine OCTOBER ISSUE 2016 #Issue 17 | Page 34

JAPAN-AFRICA
TICAD VI
INTERVIEW
日本とアフリカのパートナーシップを新たなレベルへ
JAPAN-AFRICA— ELEVATING THE
PARTNERSHIP TO THE NEXT LEVEL
MR. SHUNSUKE TAKEI
PARLIAMENTARY VICE-MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
MEMBER, THE HOUSE OF THE REPRESENTATIVES
INTRODUCTION
Mr. Shunsuke Takei sat down with JAPAN
and the WORLD to elaborate on the need
to invest in Africa’s social infrastructure
as well as in manufacturing industries
and human resources development.
JAPAN and the WORLDは武井俊輔氏とアフ
リカの社会基盤、並びに製造産業や人材育
成に対する投資の必要性について意見を交
わした。
34 // OCTOBER 2016
Mr. Takei, you were recently
appointed to a post in charge of
African Affairs. What is your opinion
on the current relations between
Japan and Africa? And what do you
think are the main issues Japan faces
in realizing the commitments made
at the TICAD VI?
Despite an increasing population, Africa
continues to achieve growth and abundance in
natural resources. During my last visit there,
I was once more reminded of this. Politically
and economically, Africa is an important
partner for Japan. At the same time, it faces
issues such as poverty, economic inequalities
as well as terrorism and conflicts.
The first Tokyo International Conference on
African Development (TICAD I) was launched
in 1993 in order to address these predicaments.
I feel that Japan has since then, consistently
led efforts by the international community to
address Africa’s developmental issues. Thanks
to the TICAD initiative, the relationship
between Japan and Africa has developed
favorably and in this sense, I believe this is an
important mechanism for both parties.
For the very first time, this year’s TICAD VI
convention was held on the African continent.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was also in
attendance, announced that over the next
three years, Japan would provide human
resource development for 10 million people
JAPAN AND THE WORLD MAGAZINE