| Overview : 1. Background
With the extensive network of Country Offices, expertise in key development areas such as Poverty Eradication
and Inclusive Growth, Good Governance, Environment and Climate Change, Crisis Prevention and Recovery,
and Gender, as well as the integrator role for UN development assistance, UNDP has been partnering with
Japan to support and enhance the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), initiated
in 1993, as one of the key forum for the advancement of dialogue and collaboration on African development.
UNDP, as one of the co-organizers of TICAD along with Japan, UN-Office of Special Adviser on Africa
(OSAA), the World Bank and African Union Commission (AUC), has hosted a Special Unit for TICAD, which
has been progressively integrated into the UNDP Regional Bureau of Africa (RBA) with a view to enhancing
integrated UNDP support for the TICAD process. Through the Special Unit for TICAD, UNDP has consistently
supported the successful expansion and evolution of the TICAD process and provided critical support in all
relevant areas, including strategic, substantive, programmatic, technical and operational. Since the first TICAD welcomed 1,000 participants in Tokyo in 1993, TICAD has steadily grown into a major
global platform for African development. Most recent TICAD VI, the first TICAD summit held in Africa
(Nairobi, Kenya), brought together 11,000 high level participants, the largest ever recorded. Since then, two
follow-up Ministerial meetings were held respectively in Maputo, Mozambique in August 2017 and in Tokyo,
Japan in October 2018. UNDP’s contributions to this success, including the critical role it played to ensure the
success of TICAD VI, are highly appreciated by wide-ranging stakeholders. The successful TICAD VII co-organized by the government of Japan, AUC, UNOSAA, World Bank and
UNDP, that closed on the 30th August 2019 in Yokohama showcased the consolidation of partnerships between
Japan and African countries. Japan welcomed around 10,000 representatives from 53 African Union Member
States, including 42 Heads of States, regional and international organizations, the private sectors of both Africa
and Japan, parliamentarians, civil society organizations and development partners from around the world. The Yokohama Declaration 2019 endorses the theme of TICAD 7, “Advancing Africa’s Development through
People, Technology and Innovation”. It also reinforces the three pillars of TICAD 7: i) accelerating economic
transformation and improving business environment through innovation and private sector engagement; ii)
deepening sustainable and resilient society; and iii) strengthening peace and stability. For each of these pillars,
the Declaration commends achievements, highlights outstanding issues, and promotes continued collaboration
and actions to advance progress. |
