Burundi: The key takeaways from the TICAD8
RegionWeek Newsletter Vol VI, Issue #220 | Monday, August 29, 2022
Dear Readers,
President Evariste Ndayishimiye and his delegation, from August 27 to 28 2022 were in Tunisia at the Palais des Congrès in Tunis to participate in the eighth edition of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development known as TICAD. Welcomed by the President of the Republic of Tunisia Mr. Kaïs Saïed, here are key takeaways that should be noted.
At the center of the discussions was the urgency of rethinking traditional models of partnerships and ensuring that the resolutions taken are translated into concrete actions for the benefit of African peoples and Japanese.
On the sidelines, President Evariste Ndayishimiye met with Mr. Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and Special Envoy of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Minister Hayashi warmly welcomed the significant progress made by Burundi in several aspects of national life and indicated that Japan wishes to grow at the same pace as its partner countries.
President Evariste Ndayishimiye received in audience Mr. Tanaka Akihiko, President of JICA, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency. They discussed the implementation of priority projects identified by the Government of Burundi and they indicated that the audience marks the beginning of a new dynamic of cooperation.
President Evariste Ndayishimiye also met with Sergio Pimenta, Vice-President of the International Finance Corporation, on ways to develop value chains in Burundi, improve the Business Environment and increase the production capacities of local companies such as the Sosumo.
On the second and last day of TICAD8, the African and Japanese Heads of State and Government discussed at length the collective responses to be made in the face of contemporary challenges relating to peace and security, resilience, and the economic recovery of States.
On the subject of peacebuilding, President Evariste Ndayishimiye shared with his peers the experience of Burundi which is recovering from decades of conflict:
“If it is true that terrorism threatens peace, poverty and social challenges are equally dangerous for Africa. » - He said
Burundi regretted Morocco's absence from the 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8).
"We regret the absence of the Kingdom of Morocco from Ticad 8 following the lack of consensus during the negotiations which have now taken place," said Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye during a plenary session on peace and security in the framework of TICAD.
“Our most ardent wishes from Burundi are to avoid such divisions during the next sessions,” he insisted.
According to him, the objective of Ticad is to act in unison with visions and within the framework of approaches in the interest of international solidarity.
Morocco had decided not to participate in the 8th TICAD Summit and to immediately recall in consultation the Ambassador of HM the King in Tunis "following the attitude of this country within the framework of the process of the Japan-Africa cooperation forum which blatantly confirms his hostility towards the Kingdom”.
On Saturday, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Living Abroad indicated that the press release published Friday evening by the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an attempt to justify a posteriori the hostile act and reinforced the unfriendly attitude of the Tunisian authorities towards the First National Cause and the higher interests of the Kingdom of Morocco, "contains many approximations and untruths".
And to stress the importance of respecting the rules and procedures relating to the invitation of persons and delegations, expressed jointly with Japan, calling for compliance with the decisions of the African Union relating to the format of participation in meetings of partnership.
The Government of Japan has been leading this conference since 1993, co-hosted by United Nations, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Bank, and African Union Commission (AUC).
In July 2020, the Government of Japan announced that TICAD8 to be held in 2022 would be hosted by the Republic of Tunisia. TICAD will take place in Africa for the second time after Kenya hosted one in 2016. In light of the outcomes of TICAD7 held in Yokohama in August 2019, Japan will continue to strongly support African-led development toward TICAD8.
Thanks for reading,
Fabrice Iranzi, Editor in Chief, RegionWeek