TOKYO: Japan pledged African leaders a $32bn in public and private support yesterday to help growth on the continent and encourage Japanese firms to invest there over the next five years.
The package, unveiled by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the opening of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), includes $14bn official development aid and $6.5bn support to help infrastructure.
Resource-poor Japan has long been keen on Africa’s vast natural resources, even more so since dependence on oil and gas imports surged after the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster shut almost all of Japan’s nuclear reactors.
Japan’s direct investment in Africa was $460m in 2011, compared with China’s $3.17bn, according to the Japan External Trade Organisation and China’s government data.
Some 50 African leaders gathered for the three-day conference held in Yokohama near Tokyo to discuss issues such as economic development, peace-making and anti-piracy.
“What Africa needs now is private-sector investment. ‘PPP,’ or ‘public-private partnership,’ leverages that investment,” Abe said in an opening speech.
State-run Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (JOGMEC) will also provide financial support worth $2bn in the next five years.
It will help Japanese firms’ natural resource development projects, aiming to catch up with China. REUTERS
