| 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. TICAD VI was 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 TICAD7 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. Building upon TICAD7 key achievements and preparing for TICAD8 in Tunisia in 2022, UNDP TICAD Unit aims to intensify stakeholder outreach and engagement to advocate for fostering public-private partnerships and mobilizing resources for Africa to accelerate sustainable growth. Capitalizing on the TICAD platform and partners, UNDP, as one of the co-organizers, is expected to play a central role to build momentum for TICAD8 closely working with key public and private partners from Japan and Africa. |
