The TICAD Process: Hope and Opportunity in Africa
TICAD is a policy forum for African development which Japan initiated in 1993 with other co-organizers including the United Nations, UNDP, and the World Bank while the political awareness of African development by the international community was declining due to the end of the Cold War. TICAD I provided an important opportunity to renew public awareness of the international community about Africa. After TICAD I, the TICAD process has led the initiative of the assistance for Africa in the international community, by holding summit-level conferences every five years (TICAD II in 1998 and TICAD III in 2003), and ministerial and other meetings on sectoral issues such as trade and investment, consolidation of peace, as well as environmental conservation and energy.
Ownership and Partnership
Through the TICAD process, Japan has stressed the importance of the ownership of African countries and the partnership of the international community for African development. This concept of "ownership and partnership" has been disseminated widely in the international community through the TICAD process. It also had a great influence on the establishment of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), a comprehensive strategic framework developed and adopted by African leaders.
Asia-Africa Cooperation (South-South Cooperation)
With the belief that the application of Asia's development experiences is useful for Africa, Japan has promoted cooperation between Asian and African countries. It has achieved visible outcomes in facilitating trade and investment, and technical cooperation between the two regions. Japan has also been cooperating with various UN organizations to promote South-South cooperation projects, such as the provision of the UNDP Asia-Africa Cooperation Fund and the One-Village One-Product movement.
Fifteen Years of the TICAD Process (1993-2008)
The TICAD process has significantly contributed to the mobilization of the international community’s interest in African development.
TICAD I
The first conference (TICAD I) took place in 1993. The Co-organizers were determined to reverse the decline in development assistance for Africa, which had followed the end of the Cold War. Participants adopted the Tokyo Declaration on African Development, committing to the pursuit of political and economic reforms in Africa, increased private sector development, regional cooperation and integration, and the harnessing of Asian experience for the benefit of African development.
TICAD II
Held in 1998, the second conference (TICAD II) renewed the commitment to help Africa face its development challenges through poverty reduction and integration of the continent into the global economy. These approaches were adopted in the Tokyo Agenda for Action (TAA). The TAA outlined a framework of cooperation and underlined the need to adopt specific goals and targets in such critical areas as human development, including education and health; economic development, including private sector development and agriculture; and foundations of development such as governance, conflict prevention and consolidation of peace.
TICAD III
In 2003, the third conference (TICAD III) made an explicit commitment for TICAD to support the African Union’s (AU) New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), a blueprint for Africa’s socio-economic growth and development. TICAD III was held in Tokyo with high-level participation of African leaders, including 23 heads of State and 20 heads of international organizations. It was heralded as one of the largest international conferences on African development. A political statement “TICAD 10th Anniversary Declaration” that renewed the commitment of leaders for African development was announced at the conference. The TICAD process continues to promote its agenda in collaboration with the African Union and NEPAD.